Drop
by punklau
Summary: They've been work partners for nine years, but never have they discussed their true feelings for one another. Can they keep it up for much longer? Through life and death situations, from country to country, city to city, gun shots to grenade fires. Will it ever be the same knowing their feelings for one another are not of just friends?
1. Chapter 1

Another day, another night. Routine, routine, routine. The kinks on his body cracked out on their own by this time. He'd been protecting the state of illinois since he dropped out of high school. It wasn't a job that most people got hyped about, but something about the bullets, the grenades, the life or death situations. He lived off it.

Of course it wouldn't be the same without his friends.

"You did good tonight, Brooks." A samoan, beast of a man approached the table with drinks, sitting them all down for his rowdy friends.

"Yeah, you didn't let that fucker escape easily." A blonde haired man nudged, taking the bottle of beer from his samoan friend and chugging a gulp down, a hard days work put to bed.

The man who was centre of attention, taking everyones praises smiled. Phil Brooks. Of course to his friends he was either Punk, due to his scruffy, tattoo'd, slicked back hair look, or Brooks. It was a cop thing to call each other by their second names, which came in handy since he hated his first name with a passion.

Him and his friends had been working with the force for as long as he could remember. They were good, too good as a matter of fact. They took care of the big jobs, not the shoplifters, robberies or muggings. The real shit.

He was crazy, dedicated his life to dodging bullets, saving damsels in distress and crashing cars at least once a week. But his friends were just as crazy…

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. All unique in their own way. They were intimidating men if an enemy were to look, but to other friends and guys on the team, they were soft, gentle giants.

"I think I still have some of his skin under my nails." Punk chuckled, taking a drink of his soda, sticking out like a sore thumb like usual when in bars and pubs. He had this strong belief of not drinking, smoking or doing any drugs. His friends however were drinkers through in through out.

It wasn't just normal police jobs, a tickle and scratch here and there. No… they had missions, real missions. They were alphas, took out the bad and the ugly. Fought, conquered and moved on to the next mission.

Punk had never really thought about anything but taking bullets, catching the bad guys and saving the good. He was married to his job, that's what he told people. His friends were just the same. They worked as a team, all having their own unique set of skills, combining them all together and creating the most dangerous team on the force.

"My neck is killing me." Seth moaned, sitting on the bar stool, his half brown, half blonde hair tied in a bobble at the back, nodding his head from side to side to get the kinks out of it.

This was his family. The force was his home. They fought until their last breaths with each other, faced life and death situations together, conquered, celebrated, grieved together. Well, Dean, Seth, Roman and of course… Mrs Alpha, as she was best known as.

"Where'd you get off to, Mendez?" Dean asked, his dirty blonde hair hanging low on his head, his beer bottle nearly empty from the thirst of the long day.

"Had to go change, didn't I." A small woman said, walking round the table of drinks, pulling out a bar stool and sitting down.

She was the last woman on the planet who looked like a cop no doubt, but she was a hell of a good one. She got the job done just as much as the guys and was down for the ride every single time.

She was small, but that came to her advantage most of the time, she was bendy and flexible. When the guys couldn't fit down small holes and ditches, she got the job done. Her hair was silky, brown and long down her back. She wasn't intimidating at all, but mess with her boys and an enemy would easily be created.

It was the only family she really had, the only family that loved her and accepted her. They were all jobaholics and looked out for each other.

April Mendez or AJ for short term, was perhaps one of if not thee most important woman in Punks life. She didn't know it, but she was. There was always something between them. Ever since they met nine years ago and became companions, they had always felt something for each other, just refused to accept it or do anything about it.

Dean, Seth and Roman knew, there were plenty of jokes and teasing towards Punk whenever AJ wasn't around, but Punk treaded lightly around the situation. He'd seen too many guys lose their girls, he stuck to a one man army with plenty of best friends.

AJ had always felt something for Punk or Brooks as she normally called him. From meeting him when she joined the force, his charming smile and tattoo's, his amazing physique and perfect smile. They'd dangled off buildings in Japan together, been nicked and cut in LA, held their breath after driving off cliffs and much more normal things like that. She wished she could look to him as a big brother like she did with Dean, Seth and Roman, but she couldn't. He was much more special, much more important.

"My round?" AJ smiled to them all, already knowing what everyone would be drinking. She stood up and walked around the table, resting her hand on Punks shoulder as she walked by to the bar counter to get the next round of drinks.

Punk watched her as she walked away, her long hair so soft and so longing to be touched. She was perfect. If only his feelings just disappeared and he could look to her like a little sister, the way the rest of the guys did.

"There he goes." Roman nudged Seth to look at Punk who turned around to face them.

"There he goes what?" Punk looked at them all.

"Staring." Dean leaned forward with crazy eyes, looking at his best friend like he was insane, "You've only been doing it for the past nine years." He said.

"I was just looking to see if she needed a hand with the drinks." Punk shrugged to them.

"She took out two Japanese fuckers on a rooftop today. I think she'll be fine." Seth chuckled into his beer bottle as Punk just growled their way.

None of them got it. If he was to ask AJ on a date, or express his feelings to her, even though she knew fine well how he felt, it would be awkward and would ruin their working skills together. They'd been in many situations where they figured they'd never see daylight again, words come out, feelings get expressed, but it was never taken seriously, in fact, it was normally forgotten about the moment they reached safety.

"How you guys holding up after today?" AJ asked as she made her way back to their private table in the corner of the bar, sitting down the drinks and taking her seat. She placed her wallet in her jean pocket and got involved in the flowing conversation.

Of course it wasn't as awkward as people may have thought between Punk and AJ. They couldn't let their feelings stand in the way of the job they worked. They couldn't be distracted, they had to be on their game the whole time, no time for fucking up. No one could understand it, but it was easier if they kept their feelings at bay and continued to pretend being friends was ok.

"Seth won't stop moaning about his neck." Roman rolled his eyes, his long hair tied behind him, his muscular tattooed arms almost bursting through his t-shirt. He was definitely the power machine out of them all.

"Hey, you didn't have that whole cabinet fall on you." Seth recalled back to earlier in the day when they had to catch nearly a whole foundation of Japanese smugglers, chasing them around the city. Their tyre skid marks were probably still out on the busy road.

"Let's just cheers to another days work done." Punk raised his glass, catching AJ at the corner of his eye smile lovingly at him, "Cheers to whatever journey life takes us on next." Punk smiled to them all, clinking his glass off of their beer bottles and AJ's glass.

"And cheers to the unlucky fuckers who have to deal with us next." Dean smiled as they laughed with a nod.

_Later that night…_

Dean, Roman and Seth had made their own way home like normal and because of Punk living on the same route as AJ took to go home, he walked her home like the gentleman he was. Being a cop did create a paranoid, protective side to him that he hated, he wished he didn't care. It was a perfect example of why his feelings for her had to be kept to himself. If anything were to happen to her, she would be his responsibility, he would blame himself. Hell… if anything were to happen to her at all, he'd be a mess.

"We got them good today." AJ folded her arms with a smile, walking along the sidewalk next to her number one team mate. Recalling their work earlier on in the day. There was no doubt about it, they worked together like a hot knife cutting through butter.

"Yeah." Punk smiled, his hands in his jean pockets. One of the hardest things he'd had to do these past nine years was pretend they were just friends. And take it from him, he'd done a lot of hard things. He just didn't want his feelings get in the way of them doing their job that they were both so good at, "We'll just have to wait to go find more trouble to get into tomorrow." He said.

"You know us. Trouble finds us." She said as he agreed, "You did good today." She nodded, coming to her house, pausing outside with him.

"Ahh, you weren't too bad yourself." He shrugged, the dark night quiet and still, unlike what they were used to. He could forever hear burning fires, crashing cars, falling down buildings… and he loved it.

"Goodnight. Brooks." She saluted him with a smile, taking herself and her bottled up feelings with her, walking up the stairs to her house as his gruff voice croaked from behind, feeling him walk towards her home closer.

"What's this box?" He asked, kicking the cardboard box outside her door.

"Oh that. It was delivered this morning. They delivered it to the wrong house, it's getting picked up tomorrow." She said, trying to find her house keys in her basic purse, tossing the gun to the side in it. Another side of being a cop, always carrying armour and weapons, no matter where you are. The unpredictability of their job was bumping into old enemies, they had to be prepared.

"Mind if I open?" He asked suspiciously, taking his own keys out as she just shrugged.

"Go ahead." She nodded to him, continuing to look through her purse for her keys, "Where are these damn things…" She muttered to herself.

Punk ran his keys down the heavily sellotaped box, finally opening it up, his eyes bolting up at the clock ticking away to the tanked bomb. 3… 2… 1…

Just enough time to grab AJ with force, pulling her into him and turning his back to the bomb to take any damage onto his own body and not AJ's, the eruption and explosion sending them onto the opposite side of the road, both of them slamming on the ground in a thud.

Punk lay on his back on the road, the burning flames in front of his eyes as he heard AJ laugh beside him.

"Who the fuck wants a piece of us now." She turned her head to look at him, her head cut and bleeding, not even phased by it. She'd felt much worse.

"Whoever it is…" Punk sat up and got to his feet, his face dirty and black from the burning and explosion. He dusted his knees off and walked across to the burning house, finding a card in the rubble, police and fire engines heard in the distance already. "Whoever it is, is making a big mistake." He walked over to her, helping her up and passing her the card that was clearly attached to the bomb.

_Run_

AJ smiled. They never ran from anything. All five of them,

**Well… surprise! Lol xD Don't worry, first of all I'm just going to say, this is just an intro for my new story. I will be continuing with 'I Want Crazy' as usual. Just thought I would give you all a little taste of what is coming up next.**

**Very different element here I think personally. Not a lot of Punklee fics start with them knowing each other, so this should be interesting to write, and for you to read hopefully. Plus, what would it be without the shield boys. Looking forward to this and I hope you guys are too. But like I said, don't worry about 'I Want Crazy,' that will be my main focus, this is just the first chapter and intro for what's coming next.**

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Where is it sent from?" Dean asked, gathering in Seth's garage like they normally did. AJ stood with her arms folded, her head still bleeding, no care for it whatsoever. She just wanted to know who had ruined her house.

Seth had a skill that none of them were particularly good at. Technology. He worked in the computing side of things, although he was a trained cop through in and through out.

"North Carolina." Seth looked up at them all, looking back at the computer screen and the different machinery beside, "The tape that was around the box is from a North Carolina button factory." Seth shrugged. Punk had told him the tape that was around the box before he opened it.

"Who do we know in North Carolina?" Roman raised his eyebrows in confusion, leaning against the wall and staring at all four of his friends.

"Two years ago." AJ said, "Remember the North Carolina city chase we done. That guy who was on the run." AJ walked over to the computers, turning one round and typing a name that came to her mind, "This guy." She pointed to the screen.

"Owen Harvey." Punk looked at the screen, "We killed him in the process of hunting him down. It can't be him." Punk shook his head.

"Maybe not him, but someone who knew him. I don't know if you guys remember…" She looked at them all, "But that guy was tough. We got him and just." She said as they all recalled.

"So what do we do?" Dean looked up at AJ.

"We go to North Carolina." She smiled to them, closing the laptop down and watching them get themselves together.

Punk leaned off the drywall he was leaning against and began to move, hearing his phone ring in his jean pocket, vibrating against his leg. He took it out as all four of his friends stared over at him.

He answered, putting it on loudspeaker without saying anything.

"Brooks… you don't know me, you're about to."

"I knew Owen Harvey." Punk spoke into the phone, looking around at everyone, "If you did to, you'll know it didn't end good for him." Punk said.

"Keep him on the phone." Seth whispered, almost just mouthing it to Punk as he connected a wire into his phone to his computer, typing as fast as he could.

"He was my brother." The line from the other side said, "I'm coming for each and every one of you."

"Just you… yourself?" Punk stalled as Seth continued to work his magic.

"Maybe." The line on the other side spoke, eventually going dead as Punk turned around to look at Seth.

"Got him." Seth said. They all gathered around and looked down at the computer screen, "Kevin Harvey. He's been in jail five times over the past three years… he looks pretty fucked up." Seth looked at the files he had brought up.

"Because the guys that normally come after us don't?" AJ stared at Seth who just made a funny face, "We need to get going." She told them, pulling out boxes in the garage and kneeling down to take her first pick, running her hands up and down the ammunition.

"Shouldn't you get that cut sorted out." Roman pointed out to AJ, her head still cut at the top from falling when the bomb exploded.

"It's a cut. I'll survive." She looked up at Roman, watching as Punk crouched down in front of her.

"What we going for this time?" He looked down at the guns with a smile, watching her smile, giving him a tingle in his stomach when she smiled back so perfectly.

_12 hours later…_

After taking a flight to North Carolina and proceeding to drive into the city for two hours, they finally arrived, parking their cars on the main strip of the city.

"So what do we do, hunt the full city for him?" AJ said, gathering around with her friends and looking at them all.

"No need to hunt…"A voice came from behind them, "I've been tracking you all." The gruff voice came from behind.

They all turned around and looked at their new enemy, reaching for their back pockets for their handguns.

"Street fights are our speciality." Dean said, the busy and loud noise coming from the centre of the city not that far away.

"Look who we have here." Kevin smiled, "Let me guess…" He shut his eyes and reopened them, pointing to Seth first, "Tech guy." He then looked to Dean, "Military, airforce… something like that." He said, all five of them standing still across from him.

"Sergeant or Captain… I'm not too sure." Kevin looked at Roman who stood still with a motionless face, "And if it isn't Mr and Mrs Alpha." He smiled, looking across at Punk and AJ.

"I'm no ones Mrs." AJ said, raising her gun in front of her, pointing it across to Kevin, "What's the deal? Do we kill you right now? Or later?" She looked across at him.

"I'm thinking later." Kevin said as a loud noise began to fill the air, at least five helicopters lying over the city, coming to their attention as Kevin smiled.

"Let's just say… I _do_ have friends." He smiled, walking across the pavement, pushing through Punk and AJ, getting into his car and reversing out of the parked spacing, speeding onto the road.

"Mendez, Brooks… go after him. We'll get the birds in the sky." Dean smiled up at the helicopters.

Punk got into his car as AJ did with hers, reversing back and speeding onto the road, keeping close communication with their friends through ear pieces and mics.

"Don't lose him. Put the foot down." AJ spoke, speeding behind Punk in her car, watching as he sped up, giving her more space to speed up.

"Dean, what you guys seeing?" Punk spoke, keeping his eyes on the road, his eyes never leaving Kevins car, dodging in and out of cars.

"They're tracking you guys right now." Seth spoke, "They don't look like normal helicopters man." Seth shook his head.

"What are you saying, Seth?" AJ said, changing gears viciously.

"I want you both in one car." Seth said, looking up at the helicopters through the windscreen, "You're giving them more to play with."

"We can't stop! We'll lose him." Punk said, already seeing AJ drive up beside him, watching her wave her hand down. He put the window down and watched as she stretched out of the window.

"Get closer!" She yelled on the busy road, watching as Punk edged over towards her.

"Hurry up! You're car is slowing down!" Punk yelled, watching as she launched herself through his car window, landing perfectly in the passengers seat.

"Always hated doing that." She shook her head, turning back and looking out the back window, watching her car explode on the road, "How the fuck did…" She shook her head, feeling Punk change gears to sixth, the engine revving along the road as he got close to Kevin's car.

"Good job you got out when you did, Mendez." Roman spoke through the monitor, "These helicopters have things coming out of them." He said.

Punk turned to AJ and watched as she began to look up at the helicopter, "Jesus…" She said in awe, "This guy has it all planned out, doesn't he?" She looked back at the helicopter through the back window, rather impressed by it.

She began to feel a large breeze, watching as Punk rolled the window down at his side.

"Get me close. Don't hesitate." He told her, stretching out of the car window, pulling himself round onto the hood of the car, watching as AJ quickly moved into the drivers seat, putting her foot down on accelerator and getting as close as she could to Kevins car.

"What is he doing?" Seth asked AJ through the system.

"He's getting into the car." AJ said, watching Punk closely as he stood on the hood of the car, extremely near to Kevins trunk, his balance shaken at the bumpy highway, other cars passing honking their horns in caution.

"Closer!" Punk yelled back to AJ.

AJ put her foot down a little heavier, completely hitting off of Kevins car, knocking Punk from his feet, watching him fall on his back on the hood of the car.

"Sorry!" AJ yelled out the window.

"AJ, you need to tell him to hurry up." Dean said, "That helicopter isn't going to wait around in demolishing your car." He spoke, in a car not that far behind AJ and Punk.

"If I get close to his car, they won't fire. It's too close to their guy." AJ said smartly across the system as Dean nodded.

Punk watched the road below him, feeling AJ get as close as she could. It was times like these he questioned what he was doing with his life.

AJ closed her eyes when she seen him jump onto Kevins car, opening them up with relief as she seen him steady and alive, thankfully.

"Get beside him, break the glass!" Punk waved his hand round to the side as AJ nodded, turning slightly and speeding up right beside Kevin, taking her gun out and shooting at the window, breaking all of the glass as she watched Kevin become alert and panicked.

"AJ! You need to get out of that car." Seth said, looking at his system on the computer, proceeding to stick his head out of the car to look up at the helicopter.

"Why?" AJ shook her head, keeping her eye on Punk who was now on the roof of the car, sliding down the side of the passengers side and emerging into the brokened space window, kicking his feet as he done so, hitting Kevin square on the face as the car went slightly off the road.

"They're targeting your car. Is Punk in?" Dean asked.

"He's in." AJ nodded, putting her foot on the break, not feeling any abrupt halt to the car. She began to forcefully slam her foot on the brakes, nothing happening. "The brakes!" AJ yelled, "They're not working." She panicked, going at a high speed, coming to a cross road.

"Jump out of the car!" Roman yelled through their ear pieces and systems, "They're going to fire AJ, get out of there!" He yelled.

AJ turned her head, watching Punk take hits from Kevin, watching Kevin take hits from Punk, their car swaying all over the road.

"AJ!" Seth shouted.

AJ took her gun, shooting at the back windows on Kevins car, tangling her body out of her window, looking up at the helicopter, her hair blowing in the wind.

AJ watched as the helicopter fired something from above, coming directly at her, hearing Dean, Seth and Roman scream at her on the line. She jumped across into Kevins car in the back seat just as whatever grenade or gun shot had hit her car, watching it explode and go into flames as she looked in at Punk and Kevin in the front.

"You lucky son of a bitch." Seth laughed as AJ smiled, watching Punks head crack off the windscreen, him and Kevin decimating each other in the front as the car swayed over the road, coming to the crossroads at the traffic light.

"That helicopter is coming forward." Dean said, getting close to Kevins car in which AJ and Punk were in.

AJ kicked her foot right at the back of Kevins skull. She didn't even know if he realised she was here. Punk was hunched over the glove compartment, blood dripping down the side of his face, the windscreen cracked as well as every window being smashed.

AJ watched as Kevin opened the car door, the helicopter right above them, a ladder hanging down.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling him fight back, a nasty elbow hitting her square on the nose, sending her tumbling back onto the back seat.

Punk looked across and watched as Kevin began to open the car door, the car still going as fast as ever, the crossroads coming up close. Kevn reached his hand out for the ladder hanging from the helicopter, feeling Punk grab his leg, retrieving and kicking his face with the other foot, sending Punk back as he got an easy escape. Yeah… that was an easy escape.

AJ looked up after a moment of blur, seeing no Kevin, a messy Punk in the front who was trying to move into the drivers seat, coming to his senses that there was a crossroad coming up and they were going way too fast to stop in time.

"Brake!" AJ screamed, climbing into the passengers side, watching Punk slam his foot down time and time again with no result.

"They aren't working." Punk moaned, slamming and slamming at the brakes, "Why would he cut his own brakes?" Punk screwed his eyes up looking at her.

"We can talk about that later, we need to get out of this car." She said.

"You two ok in there?" Dean asked, a little bit behind Punk and AJ now with Seth and Roman.

"The brakes are gone in this one too." AJ told them, "We need to jump." She looked at Punk who didn't even looked phased by jumping out of a car on a busy road at a high speed.

"You better hurry. A truck could take the car out on that crossroad. Get out of there." Seth told them, his part over as the helicopter had disappeared with Kevin at their safety.

"You ready?" AJ looked at Punk who nodded.

"Fuck it." He shrugged, both of them opening the car doors and launching themselves out of the car, hitting hard on the concrete ground and rolling at the friction a little, quickly sitting up as they watched their car drive down to the cross road, a huge truck crashing right into it.

"You alright?" Punk nodded over to her as she nodded, standing up and walking over to him.

"You?" She reached up, picking the piece of glass from his cheek, throwing it over his shoulder and smiling up at him, his face bloody and messy, hers not any better.

"All good." Punk nodded as Dean, Seth and Roman pulled up, picking them up as they got in the car and drove on.

"Good job guys." Seth knuckle bumped AJ and Punk as they got in the back seat with him, Dean and Roman in the front.

"Only it isn't a good job, he got away." Punk growled.

_Later on…_

They'd hit home in a hotel, gathering in Punks room to discuss their situation and plan.

"Why would he cut his own brakes? And how did he cut ours?" Roman asked, lying on the bed on his back, AJ sitting across on the couch, chugging a bottle of water, Dean sitting beside her on the table while Seth sat on the other single bed. Punk was busy in the shower, of course always being the most beaten up out of everyone, always having blood to clean off of him.

"He cut the brakes when we were talking to him when we first pulled up. Our backs were to the cars, he clearly had people behind pulling at the wires." AJ said with a tired expression.

"We would have heard them." Dean looked down at her.

"We're good." She said, sitting up straight, "But so is he." She said as they all looked down with a worried expression, "When does someone ever take out Brooks?" She whispered to them all.

"It's not about that." Seth shook his head, "Why would he cut his own brakes? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard." He said, "And I've heard a lot of dumb shit."

"It's obvious…" AJ began as Punk approached from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist, interrupting AJ with his opinion that he knew was right.

"He cut his own brakes, because he had a plan. He was getting on that helicopter all along. He knew we would chase, he knew we would jump cars and try get him. This is a guy who has studied our work for two years in vengeance for his brother. He isn't fucking around." He shook his head, grabbing a bottle of water from the complimentary shelf, walking past them all.

"So he knows all the ins and outs of how we work?" Roman sat up from lying down, looking across at Punk.

"Unfortunately." Punk nodded, "April's right…"

"Don't call me that." AJ screwed her eyes up at him, shaking her head coldly.

"When does someone ever escape from me?" He said, ignoring AJ's disappointed face, she was just as strong about people not saying her real name as he was, "This guy knows his game." Punk said, "He has a team, helicopters that shoot fucking fire balls and a very clever plan." He said.

"Yeah, but we're old school." Dean said, watching Punk turn his back to them, looking down at his phone.

AJ stared at his back, forever wondering about the scars it held, the vicious, large scars, almost like slashes across his back. He'd never told them, not even her, and warned them never to bring it up. It bothered her.

"Well… I'm going to catch some z's, we can talk about what we're doing tomorrow. You did good today, Phil." AJ crossed her arms, looking at Punk go stiff.

"Don't call me that." Punk said, refusing to turn around, waiting until she disappeared out of the room, taking a seat and running his hands over his face as Dean, Roman and Seth looked at him awkwardly.

They had to escalate a plan fast, this guy that wanted them all dead was tough, knew them both individually as cops and people. They were down for a real ride.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**I Want Crazy will be updated tomorrow. Thanks for REVIEWING the first chapter. Glad you enjoyed and hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters. You guys are amazing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Cleared plates sat at their table the next morning in the hotel. It was the first time that they had all seen each other worried. They normally had plans for this kind of stuff, but the man they were up against knew them, he knew the way they worked, their tricks and hiccups. They were dealing with a man just as good as them.

"Where's he at right now?" Punk asked, leaning his elbows on the table as Seth looked at his laptop screen, typing his fingers off the keyboard quickly as they waited in silence.

"Him?" Seth looked up at them, "Or his people?" He stared at Punk over the laptop.

"Both." Punk leaned back, running his hands through his face as he watched AJ across the table. She was leaning in against Seth, looking at the computer screen, something going through her brain. Punk could tell. She was the smartest woman he'd ever came across in his life. She knew things about people before they did. That made a good cop. That made a good Alpha.

"I have no location for his men. But it looks like he's headed somewhere." Seth screwed his eyes up as he leaned in closer to read the tiny map on his laptop, "He's pulled in some alley way." Seth looked at them all.

"What's he waiting on?" Roman asked with a chuckle.

"Us." Dean mumbled as they all exchanged glances.

Punk tilted his neck from side to side, cracking the kinks out from last night, stretching his body as he stood up, "Mendez, Ambrose… we'll go check it out. You two stay here, keep us noted on Harveys whereabouts, and get your ass out there if his team shows." Punk said.

"On it." Roman nodded as Seth did too.

Punk headed out of the hotel, AJ and Dean behind him. Dean always hated being on missions with just AJ and Punk, it made him feel uncomfortable. Even though Punk and AJ were strictly serious when it came to missions, all he could think about was how much both of them wanted to screw each other.

"What's going on? Are we going in here without a plan?" AJ said, turning Punk around. She'd never seen Punk so lost in a mission before, she could see fear in his eyes. And it scared her that he was scared.

"Just follow my lead." Punk told her, "Dean, take that car." Punk pointed to the yellow lamborghini parked up front, "We'll take this baby." Punk moved up alongside the black Aston Martin, touching the windows gently like it really was a baby, smiling over at Dean.

"Seriously… why don't you take your dick out and fuck it." AJ folded her arms as Punk glared her way, opening the car door and getting in as she smiled getting in beside him.

They pulled out, the car almost purring along the road, the engine so sweet as it rolled on the road behind Dean. It was awkward, and Punk was the master of making awkward, ten times more awkward.

"Why'd you call me Phil last night?" He asked, his eyes on the road, refusing to look at her as she let out a small chuckle.

"Really? That's what you're little stroppy mood is about this morning?" She asked, "You called me April, that's why I called you Phil." She said.

"It slipped from me. You done it in spite of me hating people call me it." Punk said, turning left on the road, straight behind Dean as they made their way to their guy.

"Right now we have one of the most dangerous guys in the world wanting to kill us. I think we can talk about me dropping your birth name another day, don't you think?" She looked at him as he looked at her for a second.

"You ready for this?" He asked her.

"No." AJ shook her head, taking a deep breath as they pulled around into the alley that Seth was directing them through.

Punk parked the car down the alley way behind Dean, stepping out and shutting the door over gracefully. He didn't want their presence known. Not yet.

"Dean… I want you to go in that door. See if you see anything." He said as Dean nodded, taking his gun out and heading in the exit to the side building.

"Where do you want me?" AJ put her hands on her hips with a sly smile.

Punk could have gave her a million immature but true responses… but just as those responses went through his mind, he heard a door bang over from the side building where the alley ended.

He pulled AJ around the side to the back of the building, holding her close as she pressed up against his chest, watching her look up.

It was nice. His body was warm and soft. It felt right to be up against it, but she quickly pushed away from him, standing fairly distant from him as she looked down with her arms folded.

Punk looked around, hoping his brain would come up with a quick plan. His eyes darting at the fire escape.

"Climb the fire escape." Punk told her, "Get on top of the roof. Keep an eye on us. I'll distract him." Punk told her as she nodded, nothing but a handgun in her pocket to keep her safe if she had to meet trouble on her way.

Punk watched as she climbed up the fire escape, her legs running as fast as they could carry her.

"Yo… Harvey." Punk walked back out from hiding behind the building. Gun in hand as he watched Kevin turn with a smile.

"Knew you'd be here." Kevin smiled to himself, "I have to admit. You were good last night. You almost got me." Kevin said, walking closer by each passing minute.

"Next time I won't miss." Punk said, "So what's the deal? You just want to kill us all? Is it really that easy?" Punk asked with a sarcastic frown.

"I don't just want to kill you all. I want to make you suffer." Kevin smiled, "You talk about how this is your family. Ambrose, Reigns, Rollins… Mendez. How would you feel if your family all just disappeared in an instant?" Kevin clicked his fingers as Punk raised his gun.

"You're talking shit." Punk said.

"Am I?" Kevin asked, "Why don't you ask Mendez. She is on the rooftop right now… isn't she?" Kevin smiled, purely enjoying the frightened look on Punks face.

Punk looked up at the roof with fear.

"Or what if I told you there's a timed bomb in that hotel your two friends are staying at?" Kevin smiled as Punk began to get agitated, not knowing where to go.

His brain told him to shoot Kevin right here and then, but his heart was telling him to run up that fire escape and make sure AJ was ok.

"He's going for the girl." Kevin spoke into a phone, watching Punk climb up the fire escape, running the stairs three at a time.

Punk reached the top, watching AJ laid on her back, taking punch after punch from a man in a balaclava. He didn't wait around in shooting his head off, taking care of the other guys as AJ got to her feet to help.

She may have been small but she sure could throw a punch. She punched, kicked and scraped, watching as the man balanced off the edge of the building, only to receive a kick in the gut from her, sending him flying off the building to his death. She turned and watched as Punk took care of the last remaining of the three guys.

"You ok?" Punk asked after throwing the bald headed enemy off the building, looking over at AJ wipe her nose from the punches she had taken. She always felt so embarrassed when getting beat up. She hated feeling weak, especially in front of Punk.

"Fine." She nodded.

Punk lifted his phone and dialled Dean, "We need to get back to the hotel. There's a bomb going to go off." He spoke as Dean was already back in the car.

"Where are you?" Dean asked, having been driving around the same road for the past few minutes.

Punk walked over to the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the dozens of men around the building, all guns pointing up. "We're on the building rooftop. We can't get down, bring the car round." Punk told him as Dean got to it, turning his car with his skid and coming to the aid of his friends.

"Alright stud, how do we get in the car if they're all down there?" AJ asked, looking down at all of Harvey's men surrounding the building.

"We do what we do best." Punk looked her in the eye, "We jump." He said as she gulped.

"And you're expecting a soft landing?" She chuckled as Dean pulled up discreetly, trying not to make himself known.

"You are. I'm not." Punk said, "Trust me?" He looked her in the eye, standing at the edge of the building, revving to jump as Kevin looked up at them, in total disbelief.

"Last time you asked me this, we were hanging off a building in Japan." She said.

"And we lived." Punk said bluntly, picking up his phone and dialling Seth.

"Hows it going?" Seth answered through the phone.

"Get out of the hotel!" Punk yelled, taking AJ's hand with force and stepping back to take a run, "Now." Punk threw his phone down to ruin Kevins location for him.

"I can handle myself." AJ took her hand from his.

Dean sat in the car, looking up at the top of the building, waiting and waiting until suddenly, he felt his heart jump into two places as both Punk and AJ came flying off of it.

Through taking the biggest jump of their life, Punk managed to grab AJ in the air, breaking the fall for her as he landed on the roof of the car on his back while she landed on top of him.

"Drive!" AJ yelled to Dean as Kevins men began shooting, taking cover and shielding Punk on the roof of the car as Dean drove as fast as he could.

AJ slid about on the roof of the car that was cracked in from her and Punks fall, looking down at Punk with worry in her eyes, his paused movement worrying her.

"Is he ok?" Dean rolled the window down and yelled out.

"He's fine." Punk croaked himself, coughing with pain as he rolled over, looking ahead at the busy road they were on, him and AJ dangerously balancing on top of the car, "Get in." Punk told her as she nodded, sliding down the side of the moving car, smashing in the window and climbing in, Punk doing the same on the other side.

"Put the foot down, Dean!" AJ yelled as Dean changed gears below, switching pedals onto the clutch and back to the accelerator, slamming his foot down as the speed increased by a large amount.

"You ok?" Punk winced, looking at AJ who still looked in shock and windswept from their jump. Even Kevin couldn't believe they had jumped.

AJ just nodded as they pulled up to the hotel… or what was the hotel.

"Shit." Dean cursed, looking at the up in flames hotel, parking the car, not even letting wheels stop as they all jumped out, running towards the smokey building, looking around for Roman and Seth.

"Fuck." AJ cursed, putting her hands in her hair with fear and worry for her two friends, watching Punk run past her with his shirt off, covering it over his mouth so not to inhale smoke.

"Punk!" AJ screamed, "Don't go in there…" She said, running after him, not getting far as Dean pulled her back, watching Punk disappear into the rubble.

Her heart was beating so fast, the thought of Punk in that fire made her stomach do flips. And not good flips.

AJ turned her head as soon as she heard noise come from the side of the hotel, watching Seth and Roman come out coughing, falling to their feet as Dean rushed to them. She was glad, but Punk wasn't there. She couldn't live knowing that she could have done something to help Punk. She knew he'd go in after her.

Dean turned around and watched AJ take off her leather jacket, covering it over her mouth and running into the fire.

"AJ!" Dean yelled, watching AJ disappear into the rubble to find Punk, ambulances and fire engines already arrived.

AJ kicked and pushed her way through the fallen wood and furniture that was set alight, calling for Punk the best she could, without inhaling any smoke.

"What are you doing in here?!" Punk shrieked, bumping into AJ.

"Roman and Seth are fine." AJ coughed, "You have to get out of here." She gasped, the smoke going straight to her.

"Come on." Punk said, running forward just as a huge part of the ceiling caved in, trapping their way out.

"Shit…" AJ said, watching as Punk looked around.

"This place is going to blow. We need to get out." Punk said, grabbing AJ's hand tightly, leading the way around the flames, his body burning from having no t-shirt on, his t-shirt wrapped around his mouth. Everyone knew that the fire didn't kill you before the smoke would, "Don't breathe the air in!" Punk looked back at her, her eyes hazy and her consciousness going weak.

Punk hauled them up the cautioned staircase, running towards the window and breaking it, looking out at Dean, Seth and Roman, turning back to AJ who had lost full consciousness now and was leaning against his back to help her keep her ground.

"Catch her!" Punk shouted out the window. He was really fed up of getting stranded in buildings where his only choice was to jump. Only this time, it wasn't that big of a jump, in fact, it was nothing compared to the jump they made back on the rooftop.

Punk lifted AJ up bridal style and leaned out of the window, her body weak and asleep as he painfully dropped her, shutting his eyes in fear, opening them to find her safe in Deans arms, getting took away by paramedics as he prepared himself to jump, only hearing a voice come from the cupboard in the room.

He rolled his eyes selfishly and ran over to the cupboard, opening it up and staring at the young girl with black hair.

"Please… please help me. Don't leave me." She cried in her english accent.

"Alright alright… come on, take my hand." Punk smiled the best he could, watching her grip on to his hand for dear life, tumbling into his arms in fear as he rolled his eyes, but then realised that any normal human being wasn't used to being in burning buildings like he and AJ were.

"Ok, we're going to have to jump…" Punk said, looking around at the ceiling, the whole place going up in flames, no time for them to jump individually.

"What?!" The young girl shrieked, "No… we can't jump." The girl shook her head as Punk dragged them to the window.

"What's your name?" Punk asked, feeling the smoke getting caught up in his lungs at this point.

"Paige." The girl cried, looking down at everyone out of the window.

"Ok, Paige… if we don't jump, we're going to die. We have a soft landing, it could be worse." Punk looked down at the mat on the ground, his eyes shutting every now and then, trying his best to not de oxygenase out.

"No… we can't… I can't ju…" Punk didn't give her a choice however, grabbing her and falling out of the building, slamming off the mat, his body completely wrecked from the days events, his eyes shutting over every few minutes. The only thing he cared about though, was AJ. He looked over and seen she was sitting up, a bottle of water in her hand, some paramedics in her hand, only then, did he allow himself to conk out cold.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

After Punk wakening up with the help of paramedics, he refused to go to hospital. His team were all fine and he was fine. They had to sit down with a full scaled plan, because winging it and showing up against Kevin and his team just wasn't working. He seen what Kevin was trying to, divide them up. That wasn't going to happen.

"Looks like he's staying at the Plaza hotel downtown." Seth looked at his laptop screen, gathered in Punks hotel room in the second hotel they had checked into this week.

"Alright, so if thats where he's staying, his team is probably staying there. I ditched my phone back at the rooftop so he doesn't have a tracker on me." Punk said, all five of them sitting around a table.

"So what are you saying?" AJ shook her head.

"Well…. wouldn't it make sense if we went when it's least expected." Punk shrugged.

"Nah, this guy is always expecting something." Dean shook his head with a sigh.

"Well… we're pretty much screwed." Roman looked at them all.

Punk threw the pen he was holding down, leaning back on the chair he was sitting on and sighing. He'd never been so lost for a plan in his life.

"So he wants to divide us. We've established that." AJ sat up, "So we stick together from now on. No one stays behind. But we have to have an idea of his plan. All we know is that his is better and smarter than ours." She said, "I have a plan." She said as they all leaned forward looking at her with hope, "That only involves me."

Punk tilted his head to the side, "Are you for real right now? You just said we do this together from now on." Punk said.

"There's somethings girls just have to do alone." She looked at them all as they looked horrified at her.

"What are you going to do? Sleep with him?" Dean chuckled as Punk glared at him.

"No." AJ said sternly, "Well he might think that." She smiled, "Trust me, once I get this part out of the way, this should be a breeze." She said.

"So what is it you actually plan on doing?" Roman asked.

"Seth, do you have one of those little microchips? The one that you can pick sound up from it on your computer?" AJ asked, watching Seth dig into his bag, taking out a plastic bag full of tiny little sticky chips.

AJ caught the one he threw to her and smiled down at it.

"As long as you know what you're doing." Dean said, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah, be careful. He's a dangerous guy." Roman stood up with Dean.

One after the other, they headed to their own rooms to bed. It came to a point where AJ was the last one left in Punks room, getting herself sorted and hooking up the microchip to the computer.

"Once I get this on him. We'll be able to hear everything he's talking about. Including his plan for us." She said, watching him nod, "I'm going to go in a few hours when it turns dark." She told him.

"Just be careful." He told her as she smiled.

"I didn't think you'd make it out that fire." She admitted, putting the chip on the table and looking across at him, "I was scared." She looked into his eyes.

"You? Scared?" Punk chuckled as she smiled.

"I'm serious. I'd be lost without you." She told him, rubbing her palms against each other nervously.

"You'd have Dean, Roman and Seth. You'd be fine." Punk waved his hand.

"They aren't you. I wouldn't have you." She said, "I hate you ninety five percent of the time. But that other five… that other five, I adore you. You're the greatest man I've ever met." She said.

"Why are you saying all this?" Punk raised his eyebrows, totally confused.

"What if this is our last ride?" She looked at him with feared eyes.

"It's never the last ride." Punk shook his head, "Don't say that." He stood up and turned his back to her.

"You've seen this guy…" AJ approached him, turning him around to look at her, "He's dangerous. There's five of us. He has a full army of men." She looked up at them, "You're scared, I can tell." She whispered.

"Of course I'm scared." Punk looked down at her, "I'm not scared of him, or his men, or the battles we're going to. I'm scared of losing you in the process." He said.

"Likewise." She whispered, standing rather close to him and still managing to shuffle in towards his body.

"I can't lose you knowing I never got a chance to tell you so many things." Punk said.

"Tell me now." She asked, "Please." She asked as he groaned in embarrassment.

"You already know." He told her, "I'm so in love with you. I have been for the past nine years. If I lose you… knowing I never got to tell you that, or I never got to do anything with that love… you die, I die." He told her as she wiped the tear that had fell from her eyes.

"I should get going." She whispered, backing out of his comfort and taking the chip from the table, putting it in her pocket, "I should leave this, they'll track my location." AJ said, throwing her phone down on the chair, looking across at him. He looked hopeless and worried to his stomach.

"Come back to me, yeah?" He nodded to her.

"Always." She smiled, turning and heading for the room door, leaving out of it with reality smacking against her forehead. Of course she knew they were more than just friends, but she never knew he loved her, no one had ever loved her. Not in that way anyway. She wondered why she had held back all these years. She felt the exact same and always had done, she was just scared incase their feelings would get abused by the job they worked.

She dropped the fence she had built around her during this job and ran back to the room, walking in and watching his head lift, still standing in the same position she had left him at.

She walked slowly towards him. She did truly believe that this was their last mission, she didn't think they had the skills to fight this guy. And if she was going out soon, she wanted to go out feeling loved. Not just as a friend.

"Why did you never tell me?" She stood close to him again.

"You already knew." He said, watching her look up at him innocently, reaching her hands up to cup his cheeks, pulling him down slowly and latching on to his lips. The first time their lips had ever met. It was everything she expected and more. His taste was exhilarating and the way his hands wrapped around her waist felt so right.

Punk didn't expect it, but he never refused it, he never would. She tasted so sweet just like he imagined all these years. He could finally run his fingers through her long tresses. It was so soft and silky. She didn't even have to admit her feelings, he knew they were there. It was so much than just a crush on each other. It was nine years of working with each other and restricting themselves, from admitting how they felt.

As much as Punk wanted to pick her up and lay her on the bed, he knew she had to go get things done. He felt her slowly pull back, her eyes still closed, slowly opening and looking up at him.

"Be careful." He whispered as she nodded, stumbling back and leaving the room, for good this time, not looking back as she set out for her plan to come together. At least if her time was up tonight, the last thing she would remember about Punk, was his lips on hers.

She got in her car. Getting rid of the sentimental, sensitive side of her and putting her game head on, reversing out of the parked space and gliding through the quiet road, her hands tightly on the steering wheel as she ran over her plan over and over again in her head.

She drove along the road, finally entering the plaza hotel, parking her car for an easy escape right outside the door, taking a deep breath and looking at the photo on the dashboard of the car. A picture of her and her friends. She wasn't ready to leave the world behind her. She was getting out of her tonight and returning to her friends.

She stood out of the car and walked up the entrance stairs, looking around the hotel lobby, the night porter fast asleep at receptionist, a few security guards around. She placed her hood over her head and quietly walked over to the security guard by the elevator, lifting her hood, about to say something to him, instead kicking him in the gut, hooking her right fist against his jaw and catching him as he fell out cold, lying him quietly on the ground and staring over at the other security guard round the corner.

She needed no one to see her hacking into the reception computer. If she got caught she was out of the game before it even started. She walked to the other security guard.

"Sir...I seem to be lost, could you by…" She paused as soon as she got close enough to him, kicking him in between the legs, watching him sink to the ground, finishing him off by kicking him square on the nose, watching him fall out cold on the ground. This was only the beginning.

She walked back round to the reception, being as quiet as she could so no to wake the night porter, moving him around slowly so she could get into the computer, typing in Kevins details to find his room number.

Once she found it, rolling his eyes at the realisation of him being up in the penthouse, she grabbed a spare key for it and left, running to the elevator and pressing number sixteen to take her to his room.

She looked in the elevator mirror, bumping her hair up, pulling her tank top down a little so some cleavage was showing, taking her leather jacket off and holding it in her hand, pushing her jeans down a little so her black panties were visible. Her stomach was turning inside itself.

She walked out of the elevator and walked along the corridor, looking straight on at the room door, reaching it and taking a deep breath, knocking her fisted hand off of it, slinging her leather jacket over her shoulder as she held it, trying her best to look as appealing as she could.

She watched as Kevin opened the door, a chuckle coming to him.

"Well if it isn't Mrs Alpha herself." Kevin smiled, respecting the guts of AJ, watching as she walked past him and into the room that had men in uniform, all pointing their guns at her.

"I'm no ones Mrs." She smiled to him.

"I have to say. That jump you made today. Rather impressive." Kevin smiled, "Care for a drink?" He asked.

"I'm good." AJ leaned against the wall, "I think you're really impressive." She said, filling Kevins mind with everything he wanted to hear.

"You do?" Kevin smiled.

"Yeah. In fact… it sort of turns me on. The way you control things." She bounced off the wall and walked towards him, watching him gulp over a shot of vodka.

"I'm sure your boys won't want to hear that." Kevin chuckled, oddly enough being captivated by AJ's lies. It was like she was poisoning with seduction, "I must say, it must be a plus to have a girl on the team. What'd you say boys?" He looked around at his men who all stared AJ's way.

"Me? On this team?" She asked with shock, "I'd be honoured." She put her hand to her chest, "But you must know… I like attention." She began circling Kevin, "I'm a needy girl. And not for money, jewels or diamond rings if you know what I mean." She winked.

She was appealing to every man in the room. She was controlling them and it felt great.

"Well, maybe I could give you what you need." Kevin smiled, "Or maybe you're being a vindictive little which and playing me." Kevin said, the most likely answer out of the two.

"I don't play with anyone. They play with me." She paused in front of Kevin, "Do you want to play with me?" She whispered.

"Boys, give us a minute." Kevin asked, watching all his team leave the hotel room, leaving only him and AJ. He had an idea that she was playing him, but she was turning him on with every word he spoke. She was flashing herself in front of him. She was a lost little kitten and he was a lion. He wanted someone to tell him how good he was, and she seemed perfect, even if she was playing him.

AJ felt him push her against the wall and rip her shirt open. Her bra the only thing covering her top half. She began to feel powerless but she never once got scared of him.

She seen him look at her, his eyes glancing from her eyes to her lips, locking on to them as she popped her eyes open at the shock. His mouth was sour and dragging along hers, trying to intoxicate her with his poison. But as much as it pained her, she kissed back, putting her hands on his shoulders, placing the chip onto his coat, a ton of weights being lifted from her shoulders.

_With Punk…_

Punk waited by the computer all night, waiting for some sort of sound to be picked up, eventually hearing something when it came up. He sat up and listened closely, cringing as he heard what sounded like kissing noises.

He ran out of the room and knocked on the doors of his three friends, gathering them in his room and getting Seth to do his magic.

"No way." Seth smiled, "She's put a USB device into the hotels system. We have access to the whole hotel." He said with a smile.

"Check the CCTV." Punk said, continuing to listen to the sounds and noises the chip was picking up, when suddenly it picked up something that made Punks blood boil.

"Get off of me!" AJ screamed, all four of them shutting their eyes in fear for their female friend.

"We have to do something." Dean said, "We can't just sit back."

"Just give me a minute." Seth said, "Looks like Mendez took the security guards out in the lobby."Seth chuckled to himself as he looked on at the hotels CCTV, scanning his eyes through the different rooms, his eyes catching one, viewing it on full screen as they watched in horror.

They turned around and Punk was already out of the room door.

_With AJ…_

"You're a little bitch, aren't you? You deserve everything that's going to happen to you." Kevin said, holding AJ's arms above her head, pressing her down on the bed. AJ wasn't going to stand for anything. She wasn't a pushover, she stood her ground.

She kicked her leg up in between Kevin's legs, hurting where it hurt the most, feeling him free his hands from her arms, grabbing the phone from the bedside cabinet, swinging it around and hitting him across the head with it.

She took any piece of equipment or details that she figured would help her and her friends win this fight. That included taking Kevins laptop, making it quick before he gained consciousness now.

She knew better than to go out of the room door, she knew Kevins team were standing outside but she was on the top floor, there was no way she could climb down the building.

She took the gun from Kevins pocket just as the door opened, causing her to dart up straight, pointing her gun across the room as she let it drop, looking at Punk standing, dead men lying behind him outside the room.

"You got it?" Punk nodded to her.

"Yeah. Take this." She said, throwing the laptop to him, gathering pieces of paper and other useful information around the room.

"You ok?" He asked as she shook her head and nodded at the same time, only then realising that her t-shirt was ripped open. She felt awkward, awkward about the situation they were in. She kissed him before she left, surely that led to some consequences. What if he wanted more? What if it was awkward from now on? She had to worry about it later, right now they had to get going before Kevin woke from his conscious sleep.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Here." Punk said when he stood out of the car with AJ, unzipping his sweater and putting it around AJ's shoulders, walking into their hotel and up to the room they were gathered in.

AJ didn't know how to act around him. Was it what she wanted? Did she want to be dating her work partner? She'd always been dedicated to her job, she'd never let anything or anyone get in the way of getting a mission complete. Now wasn't the time to fuck up. They were facing a man to dangerous. She just didn't know where she stood with Punk.

"Did he buy it?" Punk asked her, awkwardness filled in the elevator as it took them to their floor.

AJ hugged his sweater around her body, the smell of his clone on it comforted her, the warmth and softness of it.

"He did. Until I kicked him in the nuts." She said, "I done what I had to do." She said, stepping out of the lift and following Punk to their room, getting greeted by her three friends, getting praise from them all for the job she done, all of the hugging her and making sure she was ok. She would be nowhere without her boys.

"What has he been saying?" AJ asked, taking a seat beside Seth and looking on at the computer.

"Nothing really. He's been cursing a lot, and calling you some names. But he hasn't really gave us any ideas of his plan." Seth shrugged.

"Could this help?" Punk asked, revealing the laptop, passing it over to Seth, "AJ found it in his room when she knocked him out cold." Punk said, watching Seth switch the laptop on and do what he done best.

They all waited in suspense, at the edge of their seats as Seth scrolled through pages and pages of work, his eyes enlarging as he done so.

"What? What is it?" Roman asked.

"No freaking way." Seth shook his head.

"What?" Dean said.

"This guy knows everything about us." Seth said.

"Yeah, we already know that." AJ nodded, nothing new there.

"No. I mean… he knows everything." Seth looked at them all, "He has all the cases we've completed, pictures of us, where we trained, our full names and birthdays. He's crazy." Seth said.

"Erase it all." Punk said, turning to look at AJ, watching her eyes close over every so often, a busy day having taken toll of her body. Jumping off roofs, entering fires, seducing the enemy to get an idea of his plan. She'd bound to be tired.

"Why don't we call it a night." He said, "It's late and I think we're all getting tired." He looked at his three male friends, pointing over to AJ who was now fast asleep on the chair.

"Right." Dean nodded, smiling over at AJ, "She did good today." He stood up and yawned.

"She always does good." Seth smiled, "Come on. Let the queen get her sleep." He said, shutting down all the computers and heading out of the room, leaving Punk standing in unknown fear, looking over AJ who slept peacefully.

He picked her up, walking over to the bed and laying her down on it, tucking the covers over her body, crouching down and watching her eyes open suddenly.

"What happens now?" She asked quietly.

"We'll come up with a plan tomorrow when Seth explores his computer more." Punk said.

"No. What happens with us?" She corrected herself as he understood.

"I don't know. Things can change… if you want them to, or we can just keep doing what we've done the past nine years." He said.

"And what's that?" She asked.

"Pretend our feelings don't exist." Punk said, the harsh truth of this fairy tale they were living.

"I'm scared that this ruins us. Ruins everything we have together. The skills, the friendship, the love." She said, "What if we're just meant to be friends?" She asked.

"Then I wouldn't still feel like this after nine years." He raised his eyebrows as she sighed, "Now isn't the time for us to get caught up in our own drama. We need to crack on with this, stop Harvey before he does anymore damage. We can talk about it after this is all said and done." He told her with reassurance, not pressuring her into anything. He was just telling her his feelings, he didn't expect a big reaction from her, in fact… he'd had nine years to prepare for her to do nothing about it.

"What if there is no after? We're going to war with this guy. I'm likely their first target to take out. I'm weak and easy, I'm a girl." She said with a cold laugh.

"You aren't weak. Or easy. Remember the first time I met you? You kicked my ass." He laughed, not even realising he was playing with her hair, she hadn't even realised it either.

AJ felt something she'd never felt before, comfort. Loved. She felt like she belonged somewhere. Her boys were always there for her, Punk was always there for her. If she was having a bad day, she would always think of them, their laughs, their smiles, and realise that life couldn't be that bad when she had four amazing friends like them.

"I'm just saying. This isn't going to be easy, and I'm not ready to leave this place. This moment is still ours." She told him.

"You're damn right is is. We're not going anywhere. We're going to take these fuckers down, each and every one of them. I promise." He told her, "Just promise me one thing, if it gets awkward with us, or we drift apart. Always find your way back to me." He said.

"I don't need to find my way back." She shook her head, "I'll never leave." She smiled.

Punk just smiled to himself and looked into her eyes. It wasn't even about him having her in a girlfriend way, it was just about him having her, period. As long as she was here, smiling and laughing, then he was fine.

"You did good today. Get some sleep." He said, standing up straight and leaving her side.

"Don't you want your bed back? I'll go back to my room." She told him.

"You know me. I don't sleep anyway. You're fine there." He told her as she nodded, turning on her side and getting comfy to fall asleep, enjoying the comfort of the bed, the smell of Punk and the clone he used on the pillows from last night, sending her straight to sleep. She didn't know what was going to happen with them, but all she knew was that she was never leaving her friends, she would never abandon the people who saved her when she was abandoned. They were her family. And her and her family were taking out Harvey and his men, as quick as they could.

_The next night…_

"Ok. We've established that these guys are tough fuckers. They aren't messing around. But we aren't either." He told them as they gathered around the table, all standing up and nodding.

"They're heading to the five story car park thats on the same road that the hotel they're staying at is on." Seth looked at his laptop.

"So we go and take them down." Dean said.

"You're damn right we do." Punk nodded, "This needs to be over tonight. I miss my bed in Chicago." He said, "Give me three for the road." Punk put a fist out, fist bumping all of his team, including AJ who just smiled.

They left the hotel, all of them in their own cars, driving behind and in front of one another, taking their time and speaking to each other through their walkie talkies. They drove into the first floor of the car park, parking their cars and getting out, staring across at the car opposite of them all.

"Thought you would show." Harvey smiled, getting out of his car and walking to the five angry enemies of his.

"We tore down this place getting your brother." Dean cracked his neck, "We're prepared to do it for you to." He tightened his fist.

"You are smart. All of you. But you aren't that smart." He said, scratching at his shoulder, picking the micro chip that AJ had attached to him the night before. He took it off and threw it in AJ's direction, watching as AJ didn't so much as flinch.

AJ spoke up, "You've already killed innocent people in that hotel, you ruined my home. Let's just end this before things get out of hand." She said.

"You're right. Things need to end. And it will. Everything is coming to an end tonight. Not for me, for you." He smiled.

AJ suddenly felt her body being pushed viciously forward as Kevin grabbed her around the neck, turning her body to face her friends, unhooking a knife from his pocket and hovering it beside her neck.

Punk turned around and watched the back of the parking lot fill up with men. Large ammunition in their hands being raised in their way.

"Let her go." Punk turned back around to Kevin as Dean, Roman and Seth faced the opposite direction, keeping their eye on Kevins men.

Punk watched AJ wink and then proceeded to watch her take out Kevin right in front of his eyes. Using her legs to kick him to the ground, grabbing the knife from his hand and twisting his arm around, swapping positions as she now held Kevin at knife point.

"Must be pretty depressing knowing you just got brought to your knees by a woman." Punk smiled down to kevin who just laughed.

"Move and I'll cut your throat right here, right now." AJ said, "Tell your men to back away." AJ said, not hearing any response from Kevin, digging the knife into his neck a little harder.

"Ok ok." Kevin put his hands up, "Guys, you can come closer." Kevin chuckled, reaching up and pulling AJ by the head over his body, sending her on her back. Punk came after him right away as they battled it out.

Dean, Seth and Roman began their attack on Harveys men. They tried their best to shoot out the majority of them to even out the numbers, but they were still outnumbered.

AJ crawled on her hands and knees, reaching for a dropped gun and shooting more of the men that her three other friends were battling it out with. She knew Punk could handle himself with Kevin.

It was like something from a movie. Dean, Roman and Seth were a hot mess. Their punches were lethal and their kicks were strong enough to kick into next week. AJ on the other hand was more flexible, escaping men under their legs, roundhouse kicking a few of them to their knees where she finished them off with a sharp kick to the face.

Punk on the other hand hadn't really been prepared for the skills Kevin had. He was fast and quick, countering to his counters. He'd never fought someone that was so skillful, he usually always had the upper hand.

After most men were out cold or on the ground suffering badly from injury, Dean, Roman, Seth and AJ turned their attention to Punk and Harvey, circling him as Punk backed into the circle to complete it.

"Give up." Roman said, "We've took out your boys. You can just head to prison and we'll leave it at that." He said.

"You think that's all of my men?" Harvey chuckled, looking around at them all, "Please…" He smiled, just as a huge corruption in the five story parking lott occurred, almost like a huge bomb being sent through the top, keeling everyone over onto their backs as fire flames began to rise, pieces of concrete falling on to them as the five stories began to cave in.

Punk looked up, wiping the dust from his face, looking over at AJ on her feet, his eyes catching the huge slab of concrete above her, slacking off and falling.

"AJ!" Punk yelled, scrambling to his feet and spearing her viciously into next week, not being surprised if he had winded her, landing on top of her as the cement behind her fell with a large crash.

AJ looked up at him, his body on top of hers, smiling up at him. Only watching him get lifted from her by the t-shirt by Kevin, watching them get back into another heated rally fight.

She scuttered to her feet, looking around. It looked like world war three had hit, the ceilings were all caved in, bricks and slabs of concrete were still falling from the top floors, a hole burned right through all five stories of concrete, flames and fire around as smoke began to fill the air. She looked out, making her way towards the edge of the car park, looking up at the helicopter.

"Dean!" AJ yelled, "Come with me, we're taking that son of a bitch down." She said, running over to the destroyed car, removing bits of concrete from it and getting in, reaching in the back seat and handing him grenade pins, reversing out of the car park recklessly and pointing her car right to the straight road ahead.

"AJ… what are you doing?" Dean asked with a scared tone in his voice. Sometimes being with AJ in bad situations were terrifying. She was fearless, and that scared Dean.

"You want a chase, big boy." AJ looked up at the helicopter hovering over her car, "Come get us." She said, changing the gears as she slammed her foot down, tightening her grip on the wheel as she leaned back in her seat from the speed, turning to Dean who smiled to her.

"You might want to hold on." AJ looked on at the road, "We're going for a ride."

Meanwhile back at the destroyed car park, Punk was still taking Kevin down, well attempting to. Kevin had leared him to the stairs at the side of the car park, running up them. Of course Punk chased. He wasn't backing down, he wasn't stopping until they had Kevin down on the ground, for good.

Somehow they ended up quarrelling together all the way to the fifth story, the top floor where their roof was the night sky above. They avoided the burned hole in the middle of the concrete and fought near the edge, which was half as bad.

Seth and Roman were down in the first floor keeping the newly emerged men away from Kevin and Punk, doing their best to fight off all of them, counting on AJ and Dean to get rid of the helicopter, and definitely counting on Punk to get rid of Kevin.

Dean had to say, AJ wasn't exactly the most careful of drivers. But she was good. She would slow down for the helicopter to target the car and shoot, only to be met with empty concrete when AJ skidded over to the side or sped up.

She eventually broke and turned the car, skidding around to face the helicopter, taking a grenade pin from Dean and rolling her window down, taking the pin out of the grenade with her teeth and wriggling out of the window, the helicopter far away in the air, but close enough for her to hit.

She threw the grenade with everything she had, watching it hit right on the blade of the helicopter, the whole thing exploding in front of her eyes, a loud bang echoing the city as she smiled, her smile fading when she watched the helicopters remains begin to fall.

"AJ, move the car!" Dean yelled, knowing himself that there wouldn't be enough time.

AJ barely made it inside the car before the helicopter came crashing down on their car, crushing them underneath glass and helicopter remains, blood already appearing on their body, trapped under their squashed and caved in car.

Meanwhile Punk and Kevin were still battling it out on top of the fifth story of car parks, Punks attention being turned from Kevin as he looked into the city, hearing a loud bang, looking over at the pieces of helicopter crushed over a car. He didn't expect AJ or Dean to be in the car so kept fighting with Kevin.

It was a brutal fight. He was already busted open in so many places but he kept going, he kept fighting with everything he had until he had Kevin dangling off the edge of the building.

"Final words?" Punk choked him out as he hung over the edge, a drop large enough to kill if falling from it.

Kevin countered and pulled Punk right from his feet, changing positions as Punk hung from the building, counting on his limited strength as he gripped his hands at the edge of the building, the rest of his body dangling down.

"What about you?" Kevin smiled, raising his foot above Punks hands ready to stomp on them when Punk spoke up.

"Yeah. Behind you." Punk said as Kevin turned round to find an angry samoan shoving his fist down his throat, sending him falling off the building with a splat.

Roman waited no time to help Punk up, patting him on the back.

"You ok?" Roman said.

"Yeah." He nodded, "Thanks." He dusted himself off, wiping the blood from his face as he looked down at Kevin on the ground below, his body moving around, "Unbelievable." Punk mumbled, taking his gun out, "One for the road home." He pointed it down, pulling the trigger as he finished Kevin once and for all.

Roman watched with a smile, "Seth is tracking where Dean and AJ got off to, but we've lost a location for them." He told Punk as they headed for the stairs, walking down all of the flights.

"Got anything?" Punk approached Seth, watching him shake his head. Just as Seth was about to reply, sirens began to fill the city, lots of them. They all looked at each other.

"AJ…" Punk mumbled, running to his car, a slight limp in his ankle from busting it up, nevertheless, escaping the car park and heading along the straight road where the helicopter crash was, skidding his car to a halt as he looked at the badly squashed car. It was all taped off and ambulances, police and fire engines were at the scene. His legs became weak when he seen paramedics begin to pull a woman out of the front seat, her long brown hair stuck to the dried blood on her face, her head tilting to him when the paramedics moved her lifeless body.

"AJ." Punk whispered.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

Punk refused to shut his eyes the full time whilst waiting in the hospitals waiting room. Seth and Roman were nodding on and off to sleep every few hours, but he kept his eyes open and alert. His knees wouldn't stop shaking, the coffee in the plasticine cup he held was shaking around from the nerves in his hand. None of them had ever been hurt badly, they'd had their fair share of bumps and crashes, but nothing like this. The way the helicopter blade was cracked right through the windscreen, the way they had to pull Dean and AJ out of the car from underneath the heavy helicopter remains. It scared him. In fact, it terrified him.

"April Mendez." A nurse called out to the waiting room, holding a clipboard and waiting for someone to come forward. Punk stood up so quick he felt himself get a little dizzy, but nevertheless he walked towards the nurse, leaving Seth and Roman sleeping on the waiting chairs. The clock ticking on 4am.

"Is she ok?" Punk asked the nurse, beginning to walk along the hospital corridor as the nurse looked at her files. All he needed to know that AJ was ok, then he could let his heart slow back down.

"It's hard to say yes or no at this moment in time. She had internal bleeding in her brain so we immediately took her for a CT scan." The nurse paused and looked up at Punk, it paining her to tell him this information when he seemed to really care for this girl, "She has traumatic brain injury. We can't tell you how serious it is until she wakes, but I would prepare yourself for the worst. She's lucky to be alive." The nurse looked up at Punk who took a deep breath.

Punks stomach was turning inside itself, he was devastated, more than devastated, crushed. The thought of not knowing how bad AJ's head injury was was killing him. He knew it could range, maybe she wouldn't be able to walk or speak, or maybe she would be fine and recover. It was one or the other.

"Is she in pain?" Punk asked, scratching the back of his head, not imagining this to be the end of their night. If he could swap positions with AJ he would.

"Not now. She possibly could have went into shock when she was hit on the head, that way she wouldn't have felt anything. But it will be a long road to recovery. I hope you're up to looking after her." The nurse smiled watching Punk tilt his head.

"You aren't her boyfriend?" The nurse asked, just assuming he was by how upset he looked when she gave him this information.

"No." Punk shook his head, "We're just really good friends." He nodded.

"My apologies." The nurse begged her pardon, "I'll let you know when she wakes." She smiled, beginning to walk away when Punk gently pulled her back.

"What about the man that was brought in? Dean Ambrose? He was in the crash too." Punk said.

"Mr Ambrose is awake in room 639. He suffered a broken leg and a few ribs, but he's fine. You can go around and see him if you like." The nurse smiled as Punk nodded, thanking her for her help and walking along the corridor to go see Dean.

His sweater was hanging over his arm, his jeans were ripped up and his whole body was sore, not that he would complain when AJ was in critical condition in a hospital bed. They'd successfully taken out Kevin but paid the severe consequences. He just hoped AJ would recover from this and get back to herself, but he was preparing himself for the worst.

He knocked the room door that Dean was in, walking on in, seeing Dean sat up in bed with his leg on cushion, watching the TV in the corner.

"Hey man." Punk smiled, closing the door over and pulling a chair over beside Dean's bed.

"You still here?" Dean asked, assuming that Punk, Seth and Roman would have went back to the hotel.

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

Dean wanted to avoid the subject, he was scared to ask, but he had to, ever since he woke from his horrible concussion, he remembered looking at the crash when he got pulled out of the car, noticing the side AJ was in all bashed down completely. He had prepared himself to hear that he had lost one of his friends, but he would never be prepared to hear it.

"How is AJ?" He asked, watching Punk sigh.

"She's alive, let's just say that." Punk sat, his hands clasped, his eyes beginning to hang from his head, feeling tired and depressed, not really knowing what he could do with himself. He was used to saving AJ, knocking her out of the way of bad situations, breaking the fall for her when they dropped. But he couldn't do anything now, it was up to the hospital.

"I didn't think she would have made it." Dean whispered.

"She has a traumatic brain injury. They don't know how bad until she wakes. She could be paralysed, Dean." Punk looked at his friend, "She might not be able to speak. Or walk." He ran his hands through his hair.

"Hey, it's AJ. She'll wake up and be fine. Don't worry about her." Dean said as Punk just looked at him like he was insane.

"Of course I'm going to worry about her. I love her." Punk said, watching Dean go stiff and look back to the TV, then he thought to himself, an anger overcoming him all of a sudden, "Why have you two never got together?" He looked back to Punk who looked up at him.

"You know why. It would be too complicated." Punk said, "She knows how I feel about her and she has never done anything about it. If that isn't a sign I don't know what is." Punk said.

"Don't you just look at her and think about how much you want to be with her? How much you would love to kiss her and touch her? What's holding you back?" Dean shook his head.

"We did kiss." Punk confessed, "Before she left that night going to Kevins hotel. She didn't think she was going to pull it off and she said goodbye to me. We talked about her feelings and… she didn't look interested in us being anything, so I dropped it and got on with the mission." Punk looked at Dean.

So many thoughts were going through his mind, he was worried sick to his stomach for AJ, he didn't understand how much he really loved her until this moment.

"How was the kiss?" Dean asked with a sly smile.

"It was great. It felt so right, you know. In that moment, it was just us. No one else. She fits. You know...when you were a kid and when you done a jigsaw puzzle, you'd start with the edges and then fill in the middle. She's the middle. The full middle. I need her." He said, looking to Dean who just shook his head.

"This shit has been going on for way too long, man." He said, "You need to tell her what you want, be straight with her. Me and you both know she wants you too." He said.

"What if she can't speak?" Punk looked to Dean, his eyes glistening with clearness, tears forming that he strictly held back from crying, "I tell her I love her and she just nods? Or what if she can't walk?" Punk said, thinking about everything that could go wrong, how much this must be hurting AJ.

"Then you'll cross that road when you come to it." Dean said, "You love this girl. This should have scared you. You could have almost lost her. You can't keep this shit up any longer. As soon as she wakes and is comfy and knows what went down. You tell her that you love her and you want to be with her." Dean told him as all Punk could do was nod.

Dean was right. This moment did scare him. He could have lost her and losing her knowing he didn't get to treat her the way he wanted to, all those dreams of them being together as a couple only staying as dreams. It scared him.

He sat talking to Dean for about an hour, he could see Dean trying his best to make him smile and laugh. It put Punk at ease knowing that Dean was ok, he would have lost his mind if AJ and Dean were in critical conditions. They proceeded to talk, watching the cubs game on TV from last night when a nurse came in.

"April is awake." The nurse said with a small smile.

"Remember what I told you." Dean nodded to Punk, watching Punk stand up and walk away with the nurse.

Punks shoulders were up tight the full walk to AJ's room. His heart was racing. He'd been less scared jumping off of a building than what he was right now, the possibility of the unknown was scaring him the most.

"You'll be glad to know she's speaking. She also has full movement in all limbs and can feel everything. She's a tough woman." The nurse smiled as Punk felt so much relief already, put at ease that AJ could at least speak and walk. Of course there was other things that could go wrong, as long as the worst wasn't the case.

Punk walked through the room door, looking at AJ lying in bed, her head turning to face him as he walked in. It looked like it hurt for her to turn her head. It hurt him to see the pain she was in.

"Hey." Punk smiled in a soft quiet voice, walking over to her, watching her little eyes roll around the room, not really knowing what she was looking at it, her focus a little out like expected.

Punk sat down beside the bed, reaching out for her hand as she flinched away, looking at him like he had two heads.

"Hey, it's me." Punk smiled, "It's Punk." He watched as she frowned, "Brooks." He tried her, watching her continue to frown blankly at him, "Phil." He whispered as much as he hated to say it.

The nurse went a little stiff behind Punk, having seen this before, probably more painful to deal with than AJ not being able to speak or walk.

"I…"AJ whispered, having difficulty with forming a sentence as expected too, "I." She whispered again, "Don't… know… you." She whispered, pausing after every word to think, thinking being one hundred times harder now after her injury.

Punk watched as she shuffled in pain, away from him on the bed, turning her head away with confusion, wondering why this man was touching her hand and getting so close to her.

Punks mouth dropped along with his heart, shaking his head as he looked at AJ turn away from him, watching her screw her eyes up at the pain in her head, her brain wiped when the helicopter hit down on her car, no memories of him or the rest of her friends in her brain.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Why can't she remember me?" Punk asked after being taken out of the room by AJ's nurse, not knowing wether to yell or cry at the fact AJ apparently didn't remember the last nine years of her life.

"It's completely normal that she doesn't seem familiar with you. She could be suffering from memory loss." The nurse said, "You just have to take it easy with her." The nurse nodded to him.

"How long will it last? A day? A week? A month?" Punk asked, probably not being the most cooperative person at that moment. But he couldn't help it. How could he possibly go on and tell AJ about his feelings when she didn't even recognise him as a person, never mind a friend.

"I'm not sure. Memory loss can be unpredictable. She could remember everything tomorrow, or she could suffer memory loss for the rest of her life." The nurse.

"The rest of her…" Punk couldn't even finish the sentence, he had to get some air, he felt like someone was choking all the air out of his lungs. He walked off, aggressively pushing through the swing doors, heading for the exit to get some fresh air.

Meanwhile the nurse had walked back into AJ's room to access AJ further, to get to the bottom of where her memory cut short.

"April… can you tell me your full name and where you currently live?" The nurse asked, looking at AJ's current files in her hand.

"April… Jeanette…" AJ looked at the nurse to see if that was right or wrong, not really knowing if she even had a middle name in the first place, something about Jeanette occurring in her brain.

"Yeah." The nurse smiled, "And your last name?" The nurse asked.

"Mendez." AJ said, nodding positively sure.

"And where do you stay, April?" The nurse asked.

"New Jersey." AJ said with confidence, watching the nurse look down at her files and shake her head, sitting the paperwork down and looking at her.

"April, you live in Chicago. You moved there to work. Do you remember what you work as?" The nurse asked.

AJ tried her best to focus, to recall, but nothing was appearing in her mind, she was completely blank. It was terribly hard to try and remember things she didn't know. She couldn't remember going to Chicago, her brain just wouldn't let her remember.

"I… I don't remember." AJ shook her head, "What happened to me?" She asked with confusion, still not knowing how she got in hospital in the first place.

"You were in a car accident with one of your friends. You were here working. You and your friends work for the US government. You're a trained police woman, you have been for nine years." The nurse said as AJ processed all this new information.

"I'm a… a cop?" AJ shook her head, not understanding how she could have been a cop, it was never one of her dream occupations.

"Yeah. And according to your friends, a very good one." She smiled, "What was the last thing you remember, April?" The nurse asked as her final question, beginning to see AJ screw her eyes up with the pain of her head, the thinking physically hurting her brain.

"I remember… working in a sandwich shop in New Jersey. I had a horrible boyfriend… I wanted to get away and start a new life… but, everything is blank after that." AJ shook her head, not knowing where all this cop life was coming from. It seemed so bizarre and physically hurt her brain. It was ever so frustrating to realise she didn't remember the past nine years of her life.

"I think we'll leave it at that for today. Get some rest." The nurse smiled as AJ called her back just for a second.

"The man who was in here… do I know him?" AJ asked with confusion, wondering who it was that insisted on touching her hand and acting like he knew her extremely well.

"You work with him. He's one of your best friends." The nurse smiled.

"One of?" AJ mumbled to herself, "I've never had a friend." She frowned, leaning her head back against the pillow, only ever remembering not having many friends, remembering feeling alone and cold and empty.

"I'll be round later to check on how you are doing." The nurse said, leaving the room as AJ lay back in the bed, sighing as she looked at the mirror across the room, standing out of the bed slowly, not rushing incase she hurt her head, walking slowly to the mirror and looking at her figure.

Since when did she have black hair? It was terrifying. She grazed her hand over the stitches down her face from the crash, coming across other scars on her body that terrified her. She lifted the hospital gown, looking at the huge scar down her hip, gasping as she covered it up quickly from her eyes. She was never that confident to be a cop, she was never outgoing and fearless. But she did remember wanted to escape from New Jersey and make something of her life. Clearly she had done so in the most drastic of ways.

_With Punk…_

Punk had been pacing up and down outside the hospital door for about fifteen minutes. He couldn't believe this was happening. How did she not remember him? It was him. They knew the ins and outs of each other, knew every little detail and more. How could she possibly not remember him when he played such a big part in her life. It was impossible for him to understand, he couldn't imagine how she was feeling, having half of her lip knocked from her brain.

"Hey man, what's up?" Seth asked as him and Roman walked out of the doors to see their friend.

"Yeah, we seen you rush out just as we were coming to find you." Roman added, watching Punk continue to pace up and down.

"Dude, stop pacing, you're worrying me." Seth walked over to Punk, holding him still and looking at him, "What's happened?" Seth pained to ask, knowing something wasn't right.

"It's AJ." Punk said, watching Seth and Roman panic, "She doesn't remember us. She doesn't remember me." Punk said, shuffling out of Seth's grip and leaning against the brick wall.

"How can she not remember us?" Roman shook his head.

"She has a traumatic brain injury. The nurse said it's normal for memory loss. But they can't tell me how long it will last. It could be a few days, few weeks… permanently." Punk sighed.

"C'mon man, she'll remember." Seth put his hand on Punks shoulder for comfort, "We just gotta be there for her and help her." He said.

"How is she going to trust four strangers?" Punk said, "Because that's what she sees us as. She doesn't remember, she doesn't even know my name." Punk said, of course taking this much more to heart than the boys, for obvious reasons that Roman and Seth understood perfectly.

"She has no one else. She'll have to trust us." Roman said, "As soon as we go home to Chicago, show her some pictures, she'll start to put pieces together, she's going to be ok, man." Roman said as Punk didn't look convinced.

"What if she never remembers?" Punk said, running his hands through his hair, wondering if life could get that little bit worse than what it already was.

"She will." Seth said, "Now come on. Let's go get some sleep. We can come by tomorrow and see how she is." Seth added, guiding Punk to their car that all three of them came in.

Punk didn't know if he could possibly do this. Waking up every morning and hoping, praying that AJ remembered him. It was horrible. He couldn't imagine how AJ was feeling, waking up and not remembering the past nine years. It crushed him knowing that all the memories they had created, more than one thousand of them, had been completely wiped from her memory. He'd never cried over anything in a long time, but this, this was worth crying over.

_A week Later…_

AJ had been kept in the hospital for a week prior to the crash, and what a horrible week it was for her and all four of the boys. Punk couldn't bare to look at her knowing she had no clue who he was.

Every day Punk tried to tread lightly around her, just tell her little pieces of how they met without it being too much for her to understand. As the days went on, she did get more comfortable with him, not comfortable enough to remember him however. Dean, Seth and Roman were lost for words. If felt surreal to know this woman, this amazing woman who they'd spent the past nine years with, had just forget who they were overnight.

For AJ, it was touching that these four men cared so much about her, especially the one with the tattoos who was extremely easy on the eyes, but it still freaked her out that she didn't know who they were. No one could understand how it felt to be sat listening to their stories involving her and not remembering one bit of them. It was hard and her head hurt sometimes just at the thought of them. She tried so much to remember them, but it was impossible.

Punk had spoken to the nurse about AJ going home to Chicago and staying with him. AJ's house did get bombed after all, not that the nurse needed to know that.

AJ wasn't fond of the idea. Why would she? How could she possibly trust any of these men? She didn't know them. No… she didn't remember them. She did know them, apparently.

It was hard to leave the hospital. She immediately felt unsafe when she walked out of the doors, the sun hitting off her face, her eyes screwing up at everything around, the brightness hurting her head incredibly.

"We're going to drive all the way to Chicago. The nurse didn't want you to take a flight." Punk told her, leading the way to the car.

"We're all going in the one car?" AJ asked, hugging her arms as she watched Punk, who she was told to call him, throwing her bag in the trunk of the car, watching the other men get in the car.

"Yeah." Seth nodded, "You can take the front." He smiled as she nodded, walking around the car, getting into the passengers side while Dean, with his crutches and broken leg, Roman and Seth squashed together in the back.

"Just tell me when your head gets sore. We can pull over and you can take your medication." Punk told her, this being the most toughest thing he'd ever done in his life. And he'd done a lot of challenging, tough things in his life. The way she looked at him like he had two head sometimes. It was incredibly hard.

"Ok." AJ smiled.

Although still not trusting these men or even wondering why she was going home with one of them, she did appreciate their patience with her. She tried to put herself in their shoes and knew they were probably hurting a lot more than her.

"So what actually happened to my house?" AJ asked as Punk pulled away from the hospital, getting on to the road they needed to take home, following the satnav attached to the car, leaving North Carolina destroyed, along with AJ's lost memory.

"It was bombed." Dean said in his gruff voice, trying his best to get comfy, his legs and ribs killing him, managing to find a comfy position with his leg up across Roman and Seth, using their laps as cushions.

"Bombed?!" AJ shrieked.

Punk realised right there that the AJ he once knew, that they all knew, the fearless confident bad ass chick that they knew was gone. The crash had completely took that from her and left her with the unhappy life she used to have before she arrived in Chicago looking to become a cop. How could he possibly turn her back into that same woman. He missed her already.

_A few hours later…_

After hours of driving, they finally arrived in Chicago and one by one, Punk dropped Dean, Seth and Roman off at their own apartment and houses. The car journey was awkward for the majority of it, no one really knew what to say to AJ without coming on too strong and confusing, they were all very much treading around her lightly which wasn't helping either.

"You aren't going to put up with me forever. I'll need to get my house fixed." AJ told Punk as they pulled up to his rather nice house that she wasn't expecting.

"You can stay here for as long as you need. You're always at my house. You're probably here more than your own home." He chuckled, watching her smile sweetly to him, "Not that you remember that… I'm just going to stop speaking now." Punk smiled to her.

"No… I like listening to you." AJ smiled, "Sounds like we were really good friends." She said, standing out of the car and shutting the door over while Punk still sat.

"You don't even know." Punk looked up, shaking his head and getting out, painting a smile on his face again like he had been doing, helping her into his house as she looked around like she had never been in it before. Which of course, in her mind, she hadn't. It was so hard for Punk to see her look around the house like she didn't know where things were, hearing her ask where the bathroom was or the kitchen. To him it wasn't only upsetting but very confusing to his brain, never mind hers.

"How'd you manage such a nice house?" AJ smiled after looking around, taking her sweater off and sitting down on the couch as he joined her, sitting on the opposite one of course.

He'd grown this fear of her, fear of her getting close to her incase he upset her or confused her. This was harder than he thought it would be.

"Don't answer that." AJ put her hand up, "We're cops, we must get paid good money." She shrugged.

"We aren't actually cops. We just tell people that." Punk said, "We go out looking for trouble, we take on stuff that the police can't. We're better than cops." Punk said as she stared blankly.

"So I'm not a cop." AJ shook her head, now not being the time to confuse her.

"Not really." Punk shook his head, "We don't wear uniforms, we don't have working days and days off, we travel, we hunt down escaped convicts, we stop terrorists, we catch guys on the run. Things that cops are too pussy to do." Punk said as she chuckled.

"How did we meet?" She asked him curiously.

"You had been in training here for about six months down at the station. I assume you wanted to be a cop, but I seen more in you. It was a Friday night, I was watching you without you knowing down at the camp, you were practising your shooting. I made one footstep towards you from behind and you took me down to the ground." He laughed recalling the moment, "I introduced you to my buddies and everything took off from there. You loved the idea of going looking for trouble." He said.

"Do you know why I moved here?" She asked, assuming he would know that too. The more and more he spoke to her, bringing up thing she knew about her, the more and more she trusted him. But everything was still completely blank.

"You hated this idea of a normal life." He said, "You had a really mean boyfriend, but only I know that… the guys don't know any of that." He said as she looked confused.

"Why would I tell you and not them?" She asked.

"That's something only you can answer." He shrugged, "Let's just say me and you trust each other, with a lot of things." He said, scratching the back of his head as she nodded.

"I can't understand how you must be feeling." She said, watching him look up from the ground and stare into her eyes.

"You had a really good life with us. You loved your job, you loved your friends… I just don't understand how you could forget it. How you could forget us." He sighed, "I feel awkward with you. I never feel awkward with you." He frowned.

"The nurse said my memory could come back in a few days." She told him.

"Yeah, but she also said it could be lost forever." Punk stared across at her as she fumbled around with her fingers nervously.

"Just bare with me." She looked at him, "I'm in a strange house, in a strange city, with a strange man. As much as you don't see it that way, that's the way I see it." She told him, just to be clear with how she felt.

"I know." Punk nodded, "You can take my bed for the night. I don't sleep anyway." He stood up as she shook her head.

"No… I'd rather stay downstairs on the couch, if that's ok?" She asked him innocently.

"Sure. I'll go get you some pillows and blankets." He said with a tired smile, walking away upstairs to fetch her some pillows and blankets to keep her warm and comfy, surprised she didn't take his offer on his bed.

AJ shyly waited downstairs, her eyes learing over at the coffee table, catching on to the framed photo sitting on it. She picked it up and looked at it. They seemed to be somewhere where the sun shined, she had sunglasses on and her hair was up, the boys weren't wearing their t-shirts. She was up on Punks shoulders while Dean, Seth and Roman stood beside, they all looked happy, especially her. She looked like there was no place she'd rather be.

"Japan." Punk said, walking downstairs, watching AJ quickly put the frame back, "Three years ago. We stayed after we completed our mission for a vacation, managed to catch a heat wave." He smiled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey." She looked up at him in fear.

"It's alright. You can look around all you like. Maybe it will help your memory." He said, sitting pillows and blankets at the end of the couch, holding a few DVD's in his hands, "If you can't sleep or whatever, here are some of your favourite movies. You left them here one night a few weeks ago." He told her, sitting them down on the coffee table.

"Thank you." She smiled at his kindness, "You don't have to leave, I'm not going to sleep just now." She smiled as he waved his hand back and forth.

"I'm pretty tired from driving all day, but make yourself at home." He smiled. Really he just couldn't sit any longer looking her in the eye knowing she didn't know him or know about all the memories and feelings they shared.

"Oh." AJ nodded, "Ok." She smiled, watching him walk away, hunched over in his own sadness, trailing upstairs and into invisibility.

AJ took the DVD and placed it in the DVR, taking a few minutes to find the lights to turn them out, heading back to the couch and laying down, feeling at such unknown. She was confused and scared, no blanket could heat her up. She felt cold and lost and wanted so desperately to remember her life before. But she just couldn't. And she was scared.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

AJ woke up in the morning, listening to the sound of a coffee percolator from the kitchen, jumping with a fright. She took a while to come to her senses and refresh her lost memory on where she was and what had happened to her. This scared her, waking up in a house she didn't know with a man she didn't know either. No one could understand how terrifying all of this was for her. Terrifying and confusing.

She stood up from the couch that was actually really comfortable to sleep on, walking around the living room and slowly entering the walk in kitchen, watching Punk as he poured coffee into a mug, biting into a piece of bacon that he was frying. He stood in basketball shorts with a ramones t-shirt on, his hair slicked back, falling forward a little from his restless sleep.

"Morning." AJ smiled hesitantly, walking through the kitchen, watching his eyes lift to her figure.

"Morning." Punk said, "You want some breakfast?" He asked her as she nodded, watching her tiimidly walk around the kitchen and sit on a stool at the high table, watching him as he got out an extra mug for her coffee.

Punk was so used to AJ round for breakfast, just not like this. He was used to her bombarding in, raiding his fridge, tanning him all out of coffee and shoving bread sticks up his nose while he cooked for her. That's what he was used to. Not this AJ who quietly and sadly crept in, as if scared of him. It was like a completely different person.

Punk hadn't noticed until he turned around that she had picked up a piece of bacon from his plate and bit into it. He dropped the mug of coffee and said, "No… No, spit it out." He told her as she jumped with confusion, hopping off the seat and spitting it out into the trash.

"Why?" AJ shook her head after spitting the very enjoyable bacon out, returning to the stool she was sitting on.

"You're a vegetarian." He looked at her as she chuckled.

"Oh." She nodded, "I thought you were just getting mad because I ate some of your breakfast." She admitted, "I'm assuming I became a vegetarian after I moved here?"

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Dean showed you a video of chickens, the way they're treated before they get killed. You hated it. So you decided to stop eating meat." He said with a smile.

"Whose Dean again?" AJ tried to think hard, there were so many of them to remember, she only remembered Punk because of his outstanding tattoo's and because he'd been taking care of her the most.

Punk just sighed, physically feeling like his heart was getting chain sawed. Just a simple question like asking who Dean was made him extremely upset. They were all such great friends, they were who they were because of each other and having AJ not know all of them was creating a big dent in their friendship. Punk didn't know how long he could last.

"He's the, blonde one. You were in the crash with him." Punk refreshed her memory.

"Oh, him." AJ nodded.

"Listen… I'm going out later with them, you're welcome to join us." He told her as he passed her the coffee he made for her, just the way she liked, also reaching for the cereal and milk, sliding it over to her.

"Eh…" AJ thought to herself, "You don't mind if I just stay here? I don't think I'm ready to go out and see everyone yet. I assume I'm pretty well known to everyone around here." She said.

"Yeah. It's fine, you can stay here. Just call me if you need anything. I'm going to get showered." He told her, walking past her and out of the kitchen, leaving her herself in an unknown area.

AJ thought he was handsome. He had this fresh, loveable look about him. But he just seemed so dull. He must have really liked her, they must have been really good friends. She only hoped she could remember everything, just for him especially.

_Later that night…_

"How is she?" Roman asked as they crowded around a table in their local bar, an empty stool beside Punk where AJ normally sat, saddening them all deeply.

"She's ok. She still doesn't remember anything." Punk said, sipping on his soda as the boys rested with their much needed beers.

"Surely it will all come back to her. She can't forget us forever." Seth said.

"She could." Punk said, hating to break it to them, "The nurse said so herself. It could be permanent. What if she never remembers us? I feel like I've lost her, she isn't there anymore. She's shy and quiet, uses her manners, says sorry when she touches things in my house. I can't keep living like that. Not when we were so close." Punk said.

"You just gotta stick with her man. She'd do the same for you." Dean said, "Listen here, we were talking and… we're thinking about taking a vacation next week, go somewhere sunny to clear our heads. Harvey was a tough fucker, we need to rest up. Maybe you could talk to AJ, see if she wants to come. Remind her how much she loves the sun." Dean said.

"She's finding it hard enough just living with me, I don't think she'll take to the idea of going on a vacation with us." Punk said, "But sure, I'll talk to her." Punk nodded.

He was just depressed, that was the only way to put it. He'd lost his best friend. He'd lost his AJ. He was insanely grieving, wondering if things could ever be the same again. It was so hard to look at her and know she seen him as a stranger. It was going to be a tough journey, and the journey didn't even guarantee happiness at the end. She could be stuck with this memory loss forever, and that's what scared Punk.

_Later on…_

"AJ!" Punk called out as he came home, looking around the house to find AJ, spotting her lying on the couch watching TV.

"Hey." She smiled, "Did you have a good night?" She asked, turning the TV down in politeness, sitting up and watching him walk slowly into the living room, sitting across from her.

"It was ok." Punk shrugged.

_Not the same without you._

"Just ok?" AJ frowned.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Me and the guys were talking and… they're going on a vacation next week, somewhere warm, somewhere they can rest up. They asked if you wanted to come along. Maybe it will be good for you, it might clear your head." He told her.

"I think my head is cleared enough, don't you think?" She chuckled, "I don't know." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I mean, it's difficult enough staying here with you, but going on holiday with all four of you. I don't think that's the best solution to my problem." AJ said as he nodded.

Punk knew who should never have even entertained the idea. It was stupid and not what AJ was needing right now. She needed to rest and feel as safe as possible.

"I get it." Punk nodded.

"Sorry." AJ buried her hands up inside the sleeves of her sweater, watching Punk stand up and shake his head.

"Just… stop saying sorry. Nothing is your fault. I should have been there to help you, you shouldn't have been in that crash." He said, turning his back to her, his hands on his hips as he took a deep breath.

"Why do I feel like you mean a lot more to me than the others?"AJ stood up, pushing the blanket she was lying with away, "Is there something you aren't telling me?" She asked, watching Punk turn around in confusion.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"Well, I don't know. You say I'm always over at your house anyway, you're always saving me, we trust each other with things… it just seems like I have a different relationship with you than the others." She said.

"This is exactly why I can't do this with you." Punk pointed back and forth to them, "Our relationship is too complicated, I can't possibly get you to understand." Punk shook his head.

"I could try." She said timidly.

"Yeah? Well trying sometimes isn't good enough." Punk said, beginning to walk away when AJ spoke up.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to look at you…" She said as Punk turned around, "To look at you and know you see a whole part of me that I don't remember. To know that you love me when I don't even know who you are. I didn't want to be in that accident, but I was. I wish I could remember you, but I can't. It might be hard for you, but this is impossible for me." AJ said as Punk swallowed loudly.

"At least you don't know who I am. I know you. I see you in the morning and I see you look at me with a blank space." Punk said, "I don't know how long I can do that for." He confessed.

"I am trying with you. I'm trying my hardest to place you somewhere in my life. When that crash happened, everything in the past nine years was just knocked straight out of my head. I need time to find they memories and moments again, find who you are." She said.

"How much time?" Punk asked her as she frowned.

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders, "If I could remember, I would, Phil." She said, watching him raise his eyebrows.

She watched him reach for the vase on the coffee table, throwing it across the room, watching it smash against the wall and into a million pieces. AJ jumped and turned to him as he looked at her with piercing eyes.

"Don't." He warned her, "Don't call me that." He told her, walking away from her and trailing upstairs.

AJ couldn't have been anymore frightened. This man just didn't get that she had forgotten everything. She assumed he didn't like being called Phil. How was she meant to know that? Whenever he told her not to call him that, she couldn't remember. She couldn't remember anything. He wasn't helping. He wasn't cooperating and she felt frightened and scared. It was hard to believe that these men were her life for the past nine years. She felt like they were seeing her as a completely different woman. She couldn't help it that she had forgotten everything and she sure as hell didn't deserve for his anger and frustration to be taken out on her. It was the last thing she was needing.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Punk sat on the edge of the bed drowning in his guilt. His hands were covering his face, leaned over himself and sighing deeply. He'd lost his cool with her and probably frightened her away. He knew she was hurting enough as it was. She was scared and confused, everything was a blur to her. His possibility of being with her was always slim, but now that she didn't remember him, there wasn't even a possibility with being with her at all.

He heard her tiptoed upstairs after giving him a few minutes to himself, walking into the bedroom and watching her stand at the door.

"I'm sorry." Punk shook his head, "I'm just not dealing with all of this very well." He admitted.

"I would never have guessed." She smiled, walking closer into the room, taking a seat beside him on the edge of the bed, not too close, but close enough, "You can be angry, just not at me." She shook her head.

"I'm not angry with you. I could never be angry at you. I'm angry with myself. I should have… I should have kept you close before the crash, I shouldn't have let you and Dean go off to track the helicopter down. If I had, you'd still remember me." He said.

"It isn't your fault. None of it is. These things just happen. We don't want them too. But they do." She said, "I know it isn't easy seeing me not remember anything about my life, but it's the way it is." She said, "Just tell me one thing. Are we really friends? Or are we secretly married? I have the feeling you aren't telling me something?" She chuckled.

Punk smiled as he looked at her, laughing for the first time in a long time, "We aren't married." Punk chuckled, "It's complicated. I don't want to confuse you anymore than you already are." He told her.

"Did we date? Are we dating? Tell me…" She smiled, "You can't keep something like that from me."

"We don't date, AJ." Punk shook his head, "Wish we did." He admitted, turning away from her, rubbing his hand up and down his tattoo'd arm, "I like you. You know I like you. We have these feelings for each other that… that never get expressed, unless we're hanging off bridges or in near death situations." He chuckled as she listened, "I want you. I want you so bad. I always figured I never had a chance with you, but now… the chance isn't even there to take." He said, running his hands through his hair.

"Do I like you?" She asked, beginning to understand a little more. They were best friends with feelings for each other.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "But it doesn't matter now. Nothing can ever happen. I can't be with someone who doesn't know me." He said.

"Why have we never got together?" She asked with confusion. Surely if she was being told that she did like this man, which she wasn't surprised, he was kind and sweet, apart from when throwing vases across the living room, and if he liked her… why had they never gotten together before.

"Like I said, it's complicated. We always talked about… if it didn't work out, what if it got awkward? I mean, we aren't just friends, we work together. We always just kept things at bay." He said.

"Have we ever…" She looked at the bed, just slightly wondering. He did say she was always at his house.

"What? Slept together?" Punk shook his head, "No."

AJ just hugged herself, looking around the room and sighing, "You should go on vacation with your friends." She turned to him with a smile as he turned with a look of concern.

"What?" He shook his head.

"I'll be fine here. I think you need time to think. We have a lot going on. I can see it's a lot more complicated for you than just me losing my memory. Go with your friends." She encouraged him with a smile.

"I can't leave you here on your own." He told her.

"You can. I'll be fine." She smiled, "I don't want you here miserable all of the time." She said as he ran his hands through his slicked hair.

"Why don't you come with us? It's never the same without you. You love the sun, you could sit in it for hours with no sun block and still not burn. You can do your own thing, you don't have to come out every night. I go, you go?" He smiled like a child as she chuckled, putting her hand across her mouth and blushing. She could see why she liked this man so much. At least she wasn't confused about that.

"Ok." AJ gave in, "I suppose I have no one else to hang around with." She said.

She supposed it wasn't the smartest idea, but what good was it doing her locked up in a house. The sun sounded delightful to her, and maybe being around her friends, talking about old memories and times would help her. Or maybe it wouldn't. It was worth trying. She couldn't live her life unhappy because of this memory loss. Yes, she was scared, but in some way she also felt safe for some reason. This man made her feel safe, even though she still couldn't place him anywhere in her life. Maybe with just a little bit of time spent together, everything would come flooding back to her. She could only hope.

_The next week…_

After a long flight to their destination of Abu Dhabi, quickly booked by Dean and Seth after seeing a brochure of the beaches there, they finally arrived and got to their hotel. It was something they normally done after big missions. They'd go on a week or two vacation to rest up whatever sores or injuries they had. Nothing had ever been quite as serious as AJ's injury however.

To all of the boys it was still incredibly hard to deal with AJ not remembering anything, it felt unreal to think her brain had completely forgotten all of them and the memories they had, but they were all for sticking by their girl until the very end, they wouldn't be friends if they didn't.

AJ was panicked for the week ahead but she was excited to enjoy some sun and lay on the beach. It seemed like the perfect way to relax, even though she was still terrified of being on a vacation with four strangers, which she kicked herself for saying all the time, knowing it was hurting all of their feelings.

They arrived just at the peak of the sun, immediately heading to the golden beach, the water blue and clear as ever, hardly any space or sun beds for them to reserve. Lucky for them, Punk knew a guy, come to think about it, Punk knew a lot of 'guys' and he managed to sort them out with a perfect position on the beach, their own sunbeds and umbrellas, their own personal bar. It was heaven.

"So have you not had any like… flashbacks or anything?" Dean asked AJ, sitting side by side to her sun bed, his legs up, his t-shirt off, screwing his eyes up as he looked at her, the brightness of the sun being so strong.

"No. Nothing has came back to me." She frowned. She assumed she would normally wear a bikini if they were all at the beach, but she didn't feel comfortable, so she stuck with short jorts and a tank top.

"Man, that sucks." Dean said, watching AJ as she looked over at Punk, speaking to the guy he knew far in the distance, enough distance for her to ask Dean something.

"Do you know why Punk doesn't like people calling him Phil?" AJ asked Dean.

"No. He's never told us. Not even you. Just like the scars on his back." Dean whispered to AJ, watching her eyes go back to Punk.

AJ spotted the scars on his back, "Isn't that just work scars?" She asked Dean.

"That's what I thought, one time Seth brought it up with him and he went off on one. If he'd tell any of us, the first person he'd tell would be you." Dean told her as she nodded, crossing her legs and leaning back on the sun bed.

At least that was one thing she legitimately didn't know. She couldn't blame this one on her memory loss.

All the boys watched as AJ walked off to the ice bucket with different alochol bottle in it, taking a plastic red cup and trying to make a decision in her head.

"Woah, woah…" Seth stood up and walked over, "What are you doing?" He asked, taking the vodka bottle from her and putting it back in the ice bucket.

"Having a drink?" AJ shook her head with confusion at him.

"You don't drink." Seth said with a serious tone.

"I don't drink. I don't eat meat. I'm pretty fucking boring." She frowned, putting the plastic cup bag in it's place, taking a can of soda from the ice bucket and heading back to her sun bed at the boys smiled at her humour. She hadn't lost the capability to make them all laugh and smile. They knew deep down, deep deep down, AJ was still there, the AJ knew was still there, she just needed time to find her.

"You coming to dinner with us tonight?" Roman asked AJ as she looked up at the larger man.

"I don't know." AJ said, undecided if she wanted a quiet, early night in bed to herself, or if she wanted to continue the day with her four friends who were indeed making her laugh until her ribs were sore. Trust was no longer an issue with them, she trusted all of them, very much. She could see the love they all had for her.

"Go on." Dean poked her on the leg with his crutches, "You know you want to." He smiled as she did too.

All three of them had been warned by Punk to take it easy with her, to not be so forward like they normally would be. They'd taken it into consideration and were being as non forward as they possibly could. It was hard, especially when they all cared for her so much.

"Ok." AJ nodded, watching as they all smiled to one another. She meant a lot to these guys. She'd never meant anything to anyone. It was nice to feel loved for once. All she could remember when she woke up was having no one, having a horrible and demeaning boyfriend, no family to care for her, when all along she had these four amazing guys. It was nice.

_Later that night…_

Dinner was a little ongoing for AJ at some parts, like when they brought old times up that she couldn't remember, it was frustrating and confusing for her, but she did enjoy listening to the stories. She didn't really say much, neither did Punk to her surprise.

Since Dean, Seth and Roman wanted to hit the town and drink themselves into oblivion like usual, Punk volunteered to walk AJ back to the hotel.

"You know… I thought I'd be more scared, but this is good so far." She folded her arms positively, entering the hotel elevator as she stood facing him awkwardly.

"I'm glad." Punk smiled, glad to see that she was happy and felt comfortable. That was all he could ask for, "Still nothing?" He asked, watching her shake her head.

"You need to give me time." She whispered, "I know. I'm frustrated too. But we can do this." She smiled positively, looking up into his eyes as he looked into hers. His eyes were the greatest thing she'd ever seen, they were so captivating and pulled her right in.

The elevator stopped, ending their awkward staring as they both stepped out, walking down the corridor to AJ's room.

"Thanks for taking me back." She smiled, "Everyone is being super cool about everything and I really appreciate it." She said, taking her room key out.

"It's hard for us. But you mean a lot. We aren't going to give up on you. You're part of the team. You go, I go. You ride, we ride. You die, we die. You're kind of a big deal." He said as she chuckled.

"All I can ever remember is having no one to talk to, having no friends or family. Waking up and realising I have you guys that love me. It's nice. I really want to remember you all." She admitted.

"I really want you to remember too." Punk whispered, feeling AJ take a hold on to his hand.

"When I do remember… If I remember. I don't think I want to be your friend anymore." She admitted, shaking her head as he looked worried, a gut wrenching feature spreading across his face.

"W-What?" He shook his head.

"I think I want to be your girlfriend." She whispered as he smiled, "The way you look at me. It says it all." She said.

"Wait until you remember, you'll be back to hating me in no time." He chuckled, watching her smile to herself.

"I could never hate you. Not after you stuck by me through this. You could have easily ran from me." She said.

"Yeah, but I haven't exactly been the greatest." He admitted.

"But you've been here. That's all that matters." She told him, "I'll let you get back to your friends." She told him, looking up at him, her hand still grasped in his as she increased her size by slowing going on her tip toes, raising her hand to cup his cheek as he stood still, watching her lips come closer to his own.

Even though she didn't remember him, she still felt the same, she still tasted the same since the last time they kissed. He should have declined, but he just couldn't. Her kiss made him feel weak.

But suddenly, in the midst of their sweet and intimate kiss, he felt AJ become lifeless and fall from his grip, her body shutting down as she held her head in frustration, wincing as he caught her from fainting.

He carried her into her room in a panic, walking over to her bed, laying her down and rushing to get a glass of water, rushing beside her bedside as he watched her. It took a few minutes, but she eventually came back around to her senses. Her full senses. Looking around the room as he immediately helped her to sit up, passing her the glass of water that she knocked out of his hand, wrapping her arms around his neck with force.

"Brooks." She said, softly with a tear rolling down her cheek. Everything coming back to her like tidal wave. Meeting Punk, her travels with the boys, becoming the perfect team, everything up until the few seconds before the crash, she seen it all in a rushing blur.

"AJ?" Punk pulled back, holding her shoulders and looking in her eyes, "You… you remember me?" He asked her.

"I remember. I remember everything." She nodded, never seeing a brighter smile on his face, feeling him pick her up with joy, hugging into him for dear life. Everything, she remember everything, why she came here, meeting her friends, her complicated feelings for Punk, going after Kevin, as soon as her lips touched his, it all came mashing into her brain, everything coming back to her so quickly that she passed out for a minute. She'd never seen Punk look so happy, it felt so good, it felt like a ton of weights had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn't feel confused or unhappy. She was so thankful for this moment, lifted in his arms as she hugged him tightly. She couldn't believe for three weeks she had forgotten the most important people ever to stand in her life. It was bizarre, but she remembered, she remembered it all.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**Couldn't break your hearts for too long xD. Let's see how Punk and AJ's relationship goes from now. Thanks for REVIEWS, keep them coming!**


	10. Chapter 10

"You… you remember? How can you remember?" Punk put her down on her feet in his moment of triumph, getting his sensitive side together.

"It all just came back to me. Like a slap on the face. It all just rushed in my head. I-I can't believe I forgot who you were." She frowned, this being an extremely overwhelming feeling. Not remembering her boys was the worst thing she could possibly have to go through.

"When we kissed?" Punk asked her curiously.

"Yeah." AJ smiled, "It all just came flooding back. Right up to the seconds before the crash. I can't believe I forgot who I was." She said, looking down and holding her head.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you remember." He said.

For Punk, this was the greatest thing. It was like AJ, the real AJ, the one he knew had risen back from the dead. He was so glad she remembered. He was now just a little iffy on where they stood with each other, she did just say she wanted to be his girlfriend.

"Thank you, for looking after me." She smiled up at him.

"Well, you know… I didn't really have a choice." He joked as she pushed him playfully, her smile bright as ever just the way he liked.

"What happens now?" She asked him, nervously standing in front of him.

"It only took me until now to realise that… these feelings, we can't keep ignoring them. I don't know what I would have done if you died in that crash. Knowing that I couldn't have been anything more than a friend to you would have killed me." He said, reaching down for both her hands, taking them in his.

"I meant what I said out there. I want us to try at this." She smiled, "I want to be your girlfriend." She said in other words, watching him nod and smile.

"Good. Because I've wanted you to be my girlfriend for nine years." He smiled down to her.

"And if it fails horribly, and we want to rip each others throats out, promise me you'll always be my friend?" She looked up with innocence, watching him tuck her hair behind her ear.

"We'll always be friends." He told her, looking down at her as she looked up with those gorgeous brown eyes that he was deeply in love with.

AJ knew they couldn't keep this up for much longer, sooner or later they had to give into one another. Everything made sense. Being with Punk made sense. They should have done it years ago but they were terrified of it messing their job up. They were getting older now, they needed more comfort in one another. It was the right time, if not extremely late.

Punk proceeded to stare into her eyes, her lips looking so appealing to kiss at that moment in time, taking his chance and leaning down slowly.

She watched as he leaned down, capturing her lips in his, soaring his tongue into her mouth as she done the same, completely lost in the kiss. His kisses were the best she'd had, the way he pulled her right into his body and she fit like a glove, it was perfect, and nothing had ever felt better.

Their kiss went from one to ten extremely quickly, getting rather reckless with one another, their desire and lust over the past nine years showing. Punk picked AJ up by the ass, her legs circling around his waist as her arms wrapped around his continued with their kiss while Punk walked around the bed to the bottom, laying AJ down in the centre, exactly where he'd always wanted her.

They were lost in nine years of frustration. They were finally going to get some relief, they were finally going to be able to touch each other and see each other for the first time and none of them were particularly calm about it.

"We don't have to do this." Punk told her as she lay in the centre of the bed.

"We do." She said, "I want this." She told him truthfully. She'd always have dreams about them, the way his body would feel naked, or how delicately he would handle her. She wanted to be loved. She'd never been loved. And she had no problem in loving him either.

Punk was glad she wanted this, because he couldn't explain how much he did.

He put one knee on the bed and leaned over her, pressing his lips against hers again, making out with her just for a few more minutes, abandoning her lips and taking a trip down to her neck.

It was her first moan of the night and it made his whole body feel weak. He continued to leave wet and warm kisses on her neck, retrieving just to lift his t-shirt over his head, throwing it away behind him and leaning back down to her neck.

AJ ran her hands up and over his shoulders while he toyed with her neck, his skin so smooth and soft, meant for her hands to run over.

Punk pulled back from her sweetly scented neck that was like heaven and looked down at her. It was the first time he'd ever seen her look nervous. She was always confident about everything, but this was different. This was being open in front of him. Nothing else to hide from him. Of course she was going to be nervous.

He hooked his fingers at the hem of her t-shirt and lifted it over her head, his eyes going to her breasts cupped in her black bra, some cleavage over the top of the cups for his eyes to feast on.

AJ's heart was beating rapidly. She hadn't been with a man in a long time. But this wasn't just any man. This was Punk. This was the man of her dreams, who she always longed to be with but was too afraid. Her stomach was doing a thousand summersaults.

Punk couldn't settle for just some cleavage to look at, he wanted to see all of her. He reached behind her back and unclasped her bra with just one hand, lifting it from her body and looking down at her, never seeing anything so beautiful in all of his life. Her skin was like caramel, it was so soft and beautiful. Her breasts weren't particularly big, but they were just right, they stood up begging to be touched yet he couldn't bring his hand to touch her. He'd never been so nervous with another girl before. But she wasn't just any other girl.

"Touch me." AJ said impatiently, taking his hand and placing it on her breast, watching him gulp, trying to help him find his confidence back that seemed to have just dropped all of a sudden when he seen her.

Punk came out of his freeze frame and leaned forward hesitantly, closing his mouth down on the opposite breast he wasn't touching, swirling his tongue around the sensitive flesh, remembering why they were doing this. Because he wanted to love her, every day and night, for the rest of his life.

"Punk." AJ bit her lip, cupping the back of his head as he continued to use his tongue on her breasts, switching from time to time, always keeping his eyes upon her as he done so.

She thought that sometimes, being with him would be weird, but oddly this felt right, it felt like they'd been doing it the full time. It felt so right.

As much as it pained Punk, he left her breasts alone, travelling down the valley between them, his lips grazing across her toned stomach, tanned and sweet like the rest of her body, shuffling down the bed as he came face to face with her jorts.

He was just one pull away from seeing her completely. He knew there was no going back now. He'd dreamed about this moment for nine years and they'd finally made it. He finally got the go ahead to touch her and make her feel good all over. He wasn't chickening out now.

He unbuttoned her jorts and hooked his fingers at either side of them, making sure he had hold of her panties too, pulling them down slowly as she lifted her hips up a little to help him. She didn't know if she was nervous or excited, a mixture of both no doubt. She assumed it would feel weird, to be naked in front of someone who she's known for so long just as a friend, but it didn't feel weird at all, it felt right, it felt good.

Punk didn't really know what to do with himself, she was just lying there, naked, as perfect as ever, so bare and open to him. Every inch of her was perfect, every single inch.

He scooted her down a little to come closer to him, settling in between her legs, watching her over her womanhood as she lay still and stiff. He kissed in at her thighs, creating goosebumps all over her body as he done so.

He took his time getting to her centre, but when he did it was so heavenly. She was already wet and her folds just begged to be parted. He ran a finger down her slit, stroking her clit in circles to warm her up, watching her hips lift and her voice raise.

"Oh." She grabbed onto the sheets, "Oh, that feels so good." She moaned, shutting her eyes in pleasure, emphasising on the 'so' part of that sentence.

"Yeah?" Punk smiled up at her, watching her toss about in denial above, "What about this?" He asked with a teasing tone, inserting a finger inside her, watching her hips rotate and her head roll back.

"Oh god. Yes…" AJ gasped for air, never feeling such intense pleasure in her life.

Punk didn't know if she felt so tight because she was nervous and flexing all her muscles, or if she was naturally tight, but either way, she felt like velvet inside, it was soft and slippery, he just had to add another finger.

"Punk." AJ gasped, feeling herself stretched and open, his fingers rocking back and forth inside her slowly and painfully. A good pain though, a teasing pain, a pain that was frustrating with the speed of things.

Punk figured the perfect way to finish her off would be to have a taste of her, so while he continued thrusting his fingers inside her warmth, he leaned forward and closed his mouth around the top of her opening, flicking his tongue against her clit, hoping to stimulate everything in her body, enough for her to have her first high of the night. She tasted so sweet and adrenalizing, she was like a drug, she was his drug in his straight edge world.

AJ couldn't have held onto the bed sheets any tighter, as soon as she felt Punks warm tongue on her she began to lose it, a strong, warm tingle tightening in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh… right there." She gripped onto his hair, biting her lip and lifting her hips in rhythm with his fingers.

It was the most natural thing Punk had ever seen, she was all natural, she wasn't fake in any shape or form. She writhed underneath his touch in pure ecstasy, saying his name over and over again, of course not his birth name… she knew better.

"Oh my god." AJ ran her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath feeling Punk move up her body, everything still quivering and shaking from that amazing high he just gave her. Nothing felt as good as being close to him.

Punk leaned down and took her lips back against his, feeling her cup his cheeks as she melted back into him again. However, she wanted to explore him, make him feel good. It took a lot of strength, but she rolled them over, straddling his hips as she unbuckled his belt, pulling it through all the loops and throwing it away as he chuckled.

She leaned down into his eyes and saw nothing but love for her. She'd never been loved, not by anyone, it was a great feeling, she felt warm and safe, like she was undefeatable.

She pecked him on the lips, dragging her mouth down his neck and to his chest, looking up at him as she kissed down on his masculine frame.

Punk smiled as he watched her soar down his body with interest, leaving her wet hot kisses down his chest and middle of his stomach, coming to his jeans and pausing as she looked up at him.

Tonight was about finding each other, about making each other weaker than the other, finding what they liked and didn't like. It was about venturing into new worlds they had forever dreamed about but never dared enter.

She unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down, watching him kick them away to help her, his boxer shorts the only thing covering him. Of course he wasn't as nervous as what she was, but she could see a slight panic in his eyes, he was nervous on some level, of course he was. He'd waited so long for this moment, he wanted everything to be perfect.

AJ kissed the bottom of his stomach, just above his boxers, hooking her fingers in either side of the black shorts, pulling them down as he watched her, propping himself up on his elbows as she looked a little taken back.

"What?" Punk looked at her as she blushed.

"You're just… You're really… you know…" She tried to spit out as he chuckled, watching her come out of her daze, wrapping her small hand around his hardened length, stroking him up and down agonizingly slow, watching him above as his eyes rolled back. Her touch was everything.

AJ wasted no time in getting straight down to business. She lowered her head down, closing her mouth around his large length, bobbing her head up and down the tip first, hearing him moan softly above, his hands burying inside her long soft hair for some relief.

"AJ… Yeah, just like that." Punk encouraged her, in absolute heaven, cursing under his breath when she took his length into the greatest of deps, hearing her gag a little when his length hit the back of her throat.

It was the greatest feeling in the world, to know he had her and she was encouraging the idea of them being more than friends, it was the greatest. This night was everything he imagined and more, and they hadn't even got to the fun part.

As much as Punk could have watched her all day, he didn't want things to end that quickly, so he pulled her up slowly, turning them back to their starting position with him on top.

"You ok?" AJ asked him, looking into his eyes that seemed a little all over the place.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Couldn't be better." He told her, leaning down and kissing her passionately, settling in between her legs and lining himself up with her, pulling back from the kiss as he slowly eased himself into her, her walls so hard to get into when they were so tight. But he knew once he was in, it was going to be the greatest thing he'd ever felt.

"Oh… Punk!" AJ moaned, feeling filled completely, feeling at home, feeling like never before.

"AJ… you're so tight." He told her, buried inside her to the hilt, leaning his forehead down against hers as she smiled, cupping his cheeks and pressing a kiss on his lips.

"Take me." She asked, "Make love to me." She nodded, never thinking she'd utter that sentence to him.

They were here, together, finally breaking that boundary between them. Having her memory loss really reminded her on how lost she really was lost without him. How much he had taken her in when no one else would, trained her to be great at her job and to not take shit from anybody. All she could think about throughout the full night, was why didn't they do this sooner because it felt right, it felt like it fit and most importantly, he fit, his body was made for moving against hers, his lips were made for kissing hers. He was her everything, best friend, soul mate and now lover and boyfriend.

_The next morning…_

It had been a long, tiring night, but a good tiring, a tiring caused by so much love and affection. She couldn't remember what time it was until they finally lay together and fell asleep with one another. It was definitely some time in the am.

She'd never had a night quite like it. Everything about it was magical from start to finish. She couldn't wait to start this new life with him, a life where being friends wasn't their way he handled her and held her as she shook, she wanted to do it all over again. It was the greatest night she'd ever shared with someone.

She woke up in the morning, the curtains blowing in from the balcony of her hotel room, the sun shining in brightly, the beach heard from below, crowded and busy like the day before. She was so lost in him last night that she forgot they were in Abu Dhabi for a vacation.

She sat up clutching the sheets to her chest, screwing her eyes up at the brightness from the balcony slide windows shining in. She turned to look down at the space beside her, filled by him, the sheets cutting off at his tailbone, laying on his stomach as he hugged into the pillow.

He gave so much of himself last night to her. He wouldn't stop pleasing her and satisfying her, he took care of her with excess treatment.

Since he was laying on his stomach, his back was facing upwards where she could see the scars, like little speckles and grazes, faded white and left to show. She wondered why he never spoke about it, and if it maybe had something to do with why never allowed anyone to call him Phil.

She leaned over and kissed his back, grazing her hand over the scars and sliding back down on her side, hugging into his body comfortably. She had no regrets, she was ready to be his girlfriend, she was ready for him to be her boyfriend. The only regret she had, was not doing this sooner because it felt so right. Nothing had ever felt so right.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**I'm sure we're all looking forward to Dean, Seth and Romans reaction. All in the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

It wasn't as awkward as what Punk thought it would be the next morning. In fact, it was pretty awesome waking up with AJ in his arms. He felt like he could relax knowing she was safe with him now. Not that she couldn't handle herself.

He woke up to her cuddled into his body, barely using her own space of the bed, her brown eyes opened and staring at him.

"Morning." She smiled, having been watching him sleep for the past half hour, waiting on him to wake up.

"Morning." He smiled to her. His normal slicked hair do had turned into a mop on his head, some hair going over his eyebrows, coming round the sides, waiting to be slicked back by him.

"How'd you sleep?" AJ said, watching him sit up against the headboard, clicking his neck from side to side. Over the years of doing the job he did, he did have some stiff bones, one of them being his neck, it always seemed to lock during the night and it was a pain in the neck. No pun intended.

"Good." Punk smiled, watching her sit up against the headboard, leaning in against him holding the covers to her body.

His body felt so warm and cuddly, she just wanted to hold on to it all day.

"What about you?" He asked her, leaning down and kissing in at her neck. He couldn't stop thinking about last night and how amazing everything was, from start to finish. It was everything he'd been dreaming about for nine years and everything was just perfect.

"I slept great." She smiled, feeling him kiss her neck lovingly, shutting her eyes and smiling with pleasure.

This was the life she wanted. Waking up in a warm city with the one person she longed to be with for the rest of her life, naked and not hiding anything from him. It was great. Hearing the people outside from their balcony, down at the beach, loud music playing through the city, the sun shining brightly in their room. It was perfect and she wanted to hold on to this moment forever.

"You know the guys are going to go nuts when we tell them." Punk said, pulling back from her neck, pulling the sheets up and wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they sat up in bed happily awoken to their new life with each other.

"I know." AJ nodded, "But they need to know. They'll just be happy I can remember things." AJ said, having not told the boys about her memory coming back or her and Punk for that matter.

"They'll be a pain in my ass." Punk rolled his eyes but with a smile. It almost felt surreal that AJ was here, lying with him naked and hugging into him. He was so excited to spend the rest of his life with her, to treasure each moment and create new memories, not just as friends but as a couple. He couldn't wait to love her the way she deserved to be loved.

"You know… I'm really glad we're giving this a go." AJ said, looking up at him as he smiled.

"Me too." Punk smiled, "I love you. So much." He looked into her eyes, "I don't ever want to lose you." He said.

"I love you too." She nodded, "You're never going to lose me." She raised her hand cupped his cheek, "I promise." She smiled, leaning up and kissing him softly, feeling him caress her arm up and down as he pulled her around by the hips, the sheet falling from her as she straddled his hips, smiling against the kiss as she felt his fingertips lightly feather up and down her back.

Everything about the way he loved her made her ecstatic. It excited her but also was enough to create so much nerves. He drove her crazy, made her feel wild and out of control. She couldn't have been happier.

_Later on…_

Punk and AJ had gone on downstairs to the lobby in the hotel, sitting at the bar waiting for Dean, Roman and Seth. They small chatted back and forth until they arrived. AJ mostly told Punk about the crash and what actually happened before it, how she hit the grenade off the helicopter and never thought about it coming crashing down.

Dean crutched his way with his broken leg, hopping over to Punk and AJ with Seth and Roman tagging behind. They all looked tired and extremely hungover, which they obviously were.

"Where'd you get off to last night?" Dean asked Punk, taking a seat beside AJ around the table. throwing his crutches down beside him and rubbing his hands over his face agressively.

"Yeah, you said you'd come back down into town after you dropped AJ off." Roman said, all of them now sitting down around the circular table.

"Well… AJ actually has something to tell you guys." Punk turned to AJ with a smile.

"I remember." AJ smiled, putting her hands out in celebration as they all smiled in complete shock but happiness.

"Really?" Seth said, "How… when did it all come back to you?" He asked, all three of them sitting up on their seats, leaning forward. They were ever so happy their friend could remember them and all the good times they shared. It was so horrible to know she couldn't at one point.

"Last night. It just came flooding back to me. Everything up until the seconds before the crash. Hit me like a tidal wave." She smiled with joy, extremely fond of the look on all three of their faces. They looked so happy and relieved.

"That's great." Dean smiled, "I think this calls for a celebration." He announced.

"Well actually… we're not done." AJ said, turning to Punk and nodding to him.

"We also have something to tell you, together." Punk said, watching them all look confused, "Me and AJ are dating." He said, watching all of them drop their jaws in shock.

AJ looked at them, shock on their faces, extreme surprisement. None of them said anything, they just stared at Punk and AJ in awe. Dean finally came out of his shocked phase and spoke up.

"About time." Dean smiled to them both, looking to Punk and nodding to him, remembering their chat in the hospital that he had obviously taken into consideration.

"I think this calls for a double celebration." Roman said standing up with a smile as AJ leaned into Punk with a smile, glad their friends had taken well to both news.

"Yeah, what you all having?" Seth asked, standing up, joining Roman to the bar after everyone gave their orders of drinks.

They all chatted back and forth with one another for a while, talking about how AJ suddenly remembered everything, discussing Kevin and going over everything that happened that night since they had never really brought up because of AJ's memory loss.

AJ had nipped to the bathroom for a minute, giving all three of the boys opportunities to prey on Punk like lions.

"You and AJ huh?" Seth raised his eyebrows up and down with a smile.

"Yeah?" Punk looked at Seth, knowing his friends would have eventually questioned him, he was surprised they'd kept their cool for this long.

"So go on… tell us what happened." Roman said as they all listened closely.

"It was simple. We kissed, she remembered everything, we went into her room, we talked about our feelings and how we couldn't keep pretending like nothing was going on. We slept together and then…"

"Woah woah woah…" Dean waved his hand back and forth, "Wait a minute… you fucked Mendez?" He raised his eyebrows as they all leaned forward.

"First of all, she isn't Mendez anymore, ok… she's AJ, my girlfriend to me, second of all, don't use the term 'fucked' and…"

"Well what do you want me to say?" Dean said, "Did you stick your dick inside her? How's that? Better?" He smiled obnoxiously.

"Oh yeah, much better." Punk nodded sarcastically, "Yeah. We slept together. What's the big deal?"

"I don't know… I didn't expect you to jump into things so quickly." Seth admitted.

"Dude, I've been waiting nine years for this. There's nothing quick about it." Punk said, "I'm in love with her, ok. I really love her, she loves me too. Maybe you should all start looking for women instead of going home with a different one every night." He backfired at them, making an arrogant smile to them as they just laughed it off, ending their conversation just in time for AJ to come back.

"What are we doing for dinner tonight?" Roman asked them all.

"I was going to take AJ out." Punk turned to AJ as she sat back down on her seat, smiling to him with a nod.

"Oh, ok. I see how it is." Seth nodded, "You two think you can just ditch us now that your lovers." Seth fluttered his eyelashes to both his friends.

"Oh, come on." AJ laughed, "We could never ditch you." AJ laughed.

"As much as we'd love to." Punk looked at them all.

"Alright, you two go have fun. We'll just hit that strip club from last night again, you see Brooks… no strip clubs for you anymore." Dean smiled, poking his crutches on Punks stomach, chuckling as Punk snapped it away.

"Dude, stop touching people with those crutches. It's weird." Punk warned his friend who went in an immediate huff.

Even though they were mad on some level that AJ and Punk were going off to do their own thing now, and would be for the future, they were happy that their two friends had finally admitted their feelings and done something about them. It took them long enough. They did enjoy making jokes and getting to Punk, it was extremely fun.

_Later that night…_

Punk had taken AJ out for dinner, finishing their night off with a walk on the beach, listening to the tide come in and out. The whole beach was silent and quiet and it was perfect and romantic.

She loved the feeling of their hands interlocked, leaning in against his body as they followed the beach around the shore. It was peaceful and quiet. Just them.

"When do you think we'll be back on the job?" AJ asked him.

"Whenever the job finds us. Could be any time. Few weeks, few days… few minutes." He smiled as she chuckled, her chuckle fading out quickly as she was biting her tongue to say something all night, scared of how he would react.

"Can I ask you something… without you getting mad?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded, wanting her to be able to talk to him about anything.

"How did you… how did you get the scars on your back?" AJ asked bravely, knowing it was a touchy subject, hoping he would just open up to her about it and not pretend he was all tough for once. If they were going to date and be intimate like she wanted, she wanted no secrets between them. She wanted the truth and nothing but the truth.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

"My scars?" Punk paused, looking down at AJ as she nodded.

"If we're going to be dating, Punk… I want to know. We need to be honest with each other." She told him.

"You honestly think I wouldn't have told you by now if it wasn't so embarrassing?" He looked at her, watching her as she looked very confused.

"Embarassing? What'd you think I'm going to do? Laugh at you?" She frowned.

"Maybe." Punk shrugged, "It's not a big deal." He told her.

"Then why can't you tell me." She folded her arms, "I'm here for you… I'm not going to judge you." She watching his head drop to the ground, cupping his cheeks and lifting it back up, "I love you. Please, talk to me." She said, shuffling around in the sand, taking her light cardigan off and sitting it down, sitting down on it as he watched her.

Punk trusted her of course. More than anyone. But he was scared she would laugh or think he was being stupid. Not that it was anything to laugh about.

AJ smiled as he walked over and sat down beside her, looking out at the dark ocean and shutting his eyes for just a second. He'd never told anyone about this, but AJ deserved the truth, she deserved to know after all these years of wondering.

"How was your relationship with your father when you were young?" Punk sighed, turning to AJ as she clicked on immediately, shaking her head as her lip quivered for him.

Punk turned away from her, leaning forward and crossing his legs in a basket, feeling her rub his back soothingly. He picked the sand with his hands, looking down as the tide came in and out.

"My mom and brother always called me Punk, I was Punk to everyone. Hey, there's little Punk riding his bike, or… hey there's little Punk pretending he's a cop with his toy guns in his front garden. But my dad… he called me Phil. Phil… go get me a beer. Phil… why aren't you like the other kids your age. Phil… why haven't you brought a girl home yet like your brother. It was always Phil. No matter how many times I begged my mom to tell him not to call me it, he always called me it. He used to sit on the couch and say, you were born Phil, you will always just be Phil." Punk said, trying his best not to fall apart, feeling AJ shuffle forward and lean her head against his shoulder, just to let him know she was here.

"That's why you don't like the name?" She asked in almost a whisper.

"Yeah." He nodded, "Whenever someone calls me it, I just see my dad, I hear him yelling at me. Telling me to go to my room, or fetch him another beer. Maybe if he was a nicer man, I wouldn't mind the name." He admitted.

"And your scars?" AJ asked, continuing to lean her head on his shoulder.

"He used to hit me." Punk took a deep breath, "Sometimes so hard that I'd fall over. The worst thing was, I used to think it was only when he was drunk, because that's when it first started to happen, but one night when he was sober, he came from work, I was watching TV. My mom was in the kitchen making dinner, my brother was out with his friends. My dad told me to go to my room, so he could watch TV and drink himself into oblivion. I stood up for myself, I told him where to go. I was thirteen. He picked me up and rattled me so hard I fell and hit my head off the table. He told my mom I tripped." He rolled his eyes that had glistening tears forming in them.

AJ wiped the tear that ran down her cheek, continuing to listen to him, leaning her head into him and holding on to his arm.

"Didn't your mom catch him one time?" AJ asked quietly, not really knowing what to say or how to respond. She never seen Punk so upset and weak before.

"No. My mom was always in the kitchen or in bed." Punk said, "I tried talking to my brother about it, he just told me to shut up and grow up. I had no one to tell. I had no friends, my mom was always so busy with work and keeping up with my dads alcohol problems and my brother just didn't care. I would maybe understand if I was a bad kid. If I misbehaved or was cheeky… but I was a good kid, you know… I helped my mom around the house, I done my homework, I kept my room tidy, I had manners… most of the time." He said, "I don't know why he had this hate for me." Punk shrugged.

"Bad kid or not… no parent should ever hit their child." AJ said sternly.

"He wasn't a parent though. Do you know what he said to me one time?" He turned to her, noticing she had tears in her eyes. He turned back to look out into the ocean, it calming him whilst telling his past, "He told me that my mom and him only wanted one kid. They only wanted one son. That I was a bigger mistake in his life than everytime he picked up an alcohol bottle." He said, chuckling coldly, his laugh hiding the pain.

"You weren't a mistake." AJ whispered, rubbing his arm up and down softly, her head leaned against his broad shoulder.

"My back was always the easy target. Did you ever used to… sit in front of the TV when doing your homework?" He said, not really expecting an answer as he went on, more of a rhetorical question, "I did… my back would be turned to him. He used to hit beer cans off my back. I wasn't the type to run away, so I sat there, and took every single hit. Sometimes he wouldn't even be hitting me for a reason. It hurt… you know, this is my father, this is the guy I'm meant to look up to and he's hitting me with every chance he has. I thought about running away, sometimes even got so far that I packed a bag, but I would wind up unpacking it and not letting him put me down." He said, "It's hard to be strong when you're alone though." He admitted, watching AJ dry her tear streaming eyes, "Don't cry." He whispered, kissing her head.

"Was that… the reason you got the scars? The beer cans?" AJ asked with a hitched voice, a large lump in her throat as she could almost feel Punks pain in his voice.

"Yeah, the majority of the scars and knicks on my back are from that. But a few are from other times. We had a really jaggy fence in our back garden. Me and my brother used to go out in the summer and play football out the back, it was the only time we got along. My dad came out and shouted us for dinner. We were so into the game, you know… you'd think parents would like to see their kids get along. I made the mistake in asking my dad for just five more minutes of staying outside. My brother warned me not to, but I didn't see the problem in asking. It was Summer, all the kids were out late, not coming home for dinner until after dark. My dad came storming out… my brother ran away." Punk said as AJ leaned her forehead on his arm, closing her eyes in fear, like she was living in Punks nightmare.

Just the image of him as a sweet little boy, getting bullied by his own father. It was so hard to hear, especially when she loved him so much.

"I had no t-shirt on. I was fourteen, it was Summer, it was roasting. He grabbed me and pushed me up the fence, my back was a mess after it. He told me not to back chat with him." He said, "I told my mom that I fell back against the fence, she believed me and it was forgotten about, but yet… here I am today, with the scars to remind me." He said.

"Weren't you terrified of him?" AJ asked with a quaky voice.

"At first, yeah. After a while I just got used to it. It was like he purposely wanted me to cry or get upset and I never did. That's what made him so angry." Punk chuckled, "I'll always remember, I was eight… I was sitting at the kitchen table with my brother doing homework, I was writing about what I wanted to be when I got older. My dad came over and read it and laughed. He told me I didn't have the balls to be a cop… eight fucking years old." Punk shook his head, a tear rolling down his cheek as he dried it quickly, "I knew at that moment that I'd be a cop, in fact… I vowed that I'd be better than a cop. That I'd take risks, catch the bad guys like on they cartoons you watched on Sundays, I'd find a nice girl along the way, we'd get married and have kids of our own and I vowed… I vowed I would never treat my kids the way my dad treated me. I would love them and tell them they could be whatever they wanted to be. I would let them stay out late in the Summer, I'd help them with homework, let them watch their TV shows… I promised I wouldn't turn out to be like him." He said, wiping his cheeks that were dampened by his fallen tears.

"You will never be like him. You're sweet and loving and caring and I love you so much." She said as he turned around to look at her.

All Punk could do was smile. This was why he loved her. Even in his darkest of times, she was here, telling him she loved him. To know she was here and wasn't judging, to know she cared and supported him, it was all he needed.

"I left the house when I was 18. My brother was worried about me, he was scared I was going to go do something stupid now that I had the chance to go do my own thing. He began to understand everything that our dad had done to me. But it was too late for him to do anything. I was 18, the damage was done." He said.

"He still hit you when you were 18?" AJ asked.

"No… No, he knew better. He stopped physically hurting me when I was about fifteen going on sixteen, but like I said, the damage had been done. He continued to talk trash to me though, all the way until I moved out." He said, "I rented an apartment in the city and started training down at the station. I met Dean, Roman and Seth. They were the best things to happen to me, they had their own shitty upbringing that made me feel better about myself, and they were a good laugh. Then you came along… and changed everything." He smiled to her as she leaned into him tightly.

"Is your dad still alive?" AJ asked curiously.

"No. He died a long time ago. Liver failure. My mom said he suffered badly." Punk said, "Am I a bad person if I say I'm glad he suffered?" He looked at her.

"No. Not when he made you suffer your entire childhood." AJ shook her head, glad herself that this cruel man had suffered what he deserved, "Did you go to the funeral?" AJ asked.

"Yeah. Remember that time I told you all I was going on a work course, to do with the new ammunition we were working on getting?" He said as she nodded remembering, "Well I was really at my dad's funeral." He said as she nodded.

He was pretty sure AJ hadn't let go of him all night as soon as he started talking. She was leaning into him so tightly, her head leaning on his shoulder, rubbing his arm up and down to comfort him. He couldn't have asked for a better girlfriend. She was understanding and caring.

"Well look at you… you done what you said you were going to do, you became better than a cop, you took risks, caught the bad guys like on television, and hey… guess what, you even got the girl." She smiled as he did, "I'm not sure about the marriage and kids thing yet, but there's time." She said as he chuckled, "You done everything you said you would, everything your father said you couldn't. You have nothing to be ashamed of…" She smiled, running her hands through his hair, "All of that is in the past. This is the present, and right now you have me, you have three amazing friends, we just took down one of the toughest guys in the world, and we're here living it up in the sun for a vacation. Don't look back and be ashamed, look back and be proud of how much you've achieved." She said, "Your father might have not said it, but I'm saying it… I'm so proud of you, and I love you." She said as he smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't ever want to lose you." He said. She was his everything, they had become lovers over night and so much more passion and intimacy was brought to their relationship now, but she was still his best friend that he trusted with his life. She always would be.

"You're never going to lose me." She promised him, reaching up and pecking him on the lips.

"Don't tell the guys, yeah? You know what they're like." Punk said as she nodded.

"It stays between me and you." She nodded, "Come on." She stood up, dusting herself off and taking her cardigan from the sand, watching him stand up too, dusting himself down, the sand getting everywhere like usual, she took his hand and leaned up, "Let's go back to the hotel." She suggested with a sweet smile, passionately kissing him as she wrapped her around his neck, his arms circling around her waist.

She was so proud of him for opening up to her like that, she knew it couldn't have been easier, but she knew he must have felt so much relief now that she knew and was calm about everything. There was no better feeling than being loved, even when your past nightmares were dark and twisted like his. She loved him for him.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

"I could really get used to this." Punk admitted, lying in bed the next morning with AJ cuddled into his torso, his arm around her as she left fingertip traces over his tattoos. It had been another night of being intimate after is painful session of opening up to her. She took care of him last night, like he took care of her.

He loved exploring her perfect body, seeing what she liked… seeing what she really liked. He got so much pleasure from her pleasure. He couldn't get enough of her, all day, all night.

"What? The sex? Or the sun?" She looked up at him, hearing him chuckle.

"Both." Punk smiled to himself, "It's so nice." He said as he shut his eyes. It felt amazing to be laid here, naked with the one woman he loved, the sun and light sea breeze coming through the window. It was the perfect way to start his and AJ's relationship.

"I know."AJ agreed, shutting her eyes and laying her head on his chest, "It's so peaceful, calm and…" AJ was cut off as a loud bang started to occur on their room door.

"You two! Get up." Seth knocked at the door, Dean and Roman there also.

"Quiet." AJ growled, finishing her sentence as Punk sighed.

"Do you think if we ignore them they'll just go away?" Punk asked AJ.

"Brooks, we heard that. The walls aren't made of steel you know." Dean said, tapping his crutches off the wooden door.

Punk just rolled his eyes and parted from AJ, swinging his legs round and grabbing his boxers, sliding them on and waiting for AJ to put her clothes on, once she did, he headed to the door and opened it, all three of them standing like vultures.

"Can I help you?" Punk asked.

"Oh sorry. Were we… interrupting anything?" Dean smirked to Punk who just stared at them all.

"Yeah actually, you were. What is it?" He asked them curiously.

"We were going down to the beach. Wondered if you and Mendez wanted to come, since you ditched us last night." Roman added, folding his arms.

"Alright, fine." Punk shook his head, "We'll get you down there in then minutes." Punk said.

"Good. Now turn that frown, upside down." Dean said, taking his crutches, about to touch Punks face with them and make a smile on his mouth when Punk grabbed them off him and threw them down the corridor.

"Go fetch." Punk smiled as Dean hopped on his non broken leg, glaring at his friend as Punk laughed watching him hop down the corridor.

_Later that day…_

It was yet another scorching day and all five of them spent the full day at the beach. Seth and Punk messed around in the water like children, Dean rested up whilst checking out the woman in their bikinis, with the help of Roman of course, and AJ done what she done best when the sun was out. Tan herself and shut her eyes.

"So you and Punk huh?" Dean turned to AJ as Roman went off to get more drinks, watching AJ open her eyes and turn to him.

"C'mon. Don't tell me you're surprised." AJ chuckled.

"I'm not… I'm just, what makes things so different now? What made you be like oh yeah I'll date him now?" Dean asked curiously.

"I think the crash put things into perspective. You know how risky our job is. I love him… I don't want to waste anymore time pretending I don't." She said, turning around and watching Seth and Punk heading back to their spot on the beach.

"I'm happy for you. Both of you. Just… don't go too fast. I would hate to see you both fall apart." Dean said as AJ smiled.

"We won't fall apart." AJ promised Dean just as Punk and Seth arrived back, their shorts dripping as they grabbed their towels.

"Feels great out there." Seth said, sitting down on one of the sun beds, wrapping the towel round his shoulders.

"I'm good here." AJ smiled, closing her eyes back over as Punk watched looked perfect just lying there, her skin tanning in the sun, a smile on her face, so much relaxation brought to her features.

"You sure?" Punk asked her with a smirk.

"Posit…" AJ was cut off as Punk picked her up from the sun bed, putting her over his shoulder as she yelled and screamed, chuckling at the same time as she looked back at all of the boys laughing.

Dean, Seth and Roman watched as Punk and AJ splashed each other, AJ jumped on Punks back, Punk attempted to jump on her back but of course nearly sunk her to the bottom of the ocean. They both looked so happy and Dean, Seth and Roman were glad of it.

"Man, they look happy." Seth smiled, watching Punk and AJ eventually be nice to each other, watching them kiss with a smile.

"They do." Dean agreed.

"It only took them nine years." Roman said as they laughed.

It was nice from their perspective to see Punk and AJ together after all this time. It totally made sense and it felt right even for them. They were Mr and Mrs Alpha. No one could deny it.

_Later that night…_

They had all decided to have a night in the hotel and just order room service. The boys were feeling a little fed up of alcohol for drinking so much the first few nights that they just wanted a quiet night in with their friends.

It was nice to be together. They sat outside on the balcony around a table, AJ sat on Punks lap while the rest of the boys gathered around.

"When do you think we'll be back out there with our guns?" Dean asked them all, chugging on his pepsi.

"I don't know. Whenever the next bad guy comes along." Seth said.

"Sometimes I think we're getting too old for this shit." Roman added, watching as they all looked at him, "I mean we've been doing this for nearly ten years. Ambrose is crutched up, Mendez forgot who she was for three weeks, Punk was close to death a few times with Harvey… don't you guys think we should be thinking about toning it down a little?" Roman said.

"I agree with Roman." AJ said as Punk looked up at her in shock.

"What?" Punk shook his head. He would have thought AJ would be the last person to pull out of their job.

"We're older now. We have our many. The US government has practically been funding us on thousands for the past ten years. Maybe it's time we say goodbye to the guns and hello to new girlfriends…" She looked across specifically at Dean, Roman and Seth, "I mean, don't you guys want to get married one day." She looked at them all as they nodded unconvinced, "Whoever they poor women will be, they're out there." She said as they chuckled.

"You mean lucky women." Seth smiled as AJ nodded with sarcasm.

"You really want to give it all up?" Punk asked her, holding her around the waist as she continued to sit on his lap comfortably.

"I don't want to. But I also don't want to die before I reach the age of thirty." She admitted with a small smile, feeling him stroke her legs up and down softly, "Just because I shoot people and punch bad guys in the face doesn't mean I don't want to get married, and have kids and grow old with someone I love." She looked down at Punk into his eyes as he smiled.

"By someone you love… you mean all of us right?" Dean smiled to her as she nodded and said, "Of course, Dean." She smiled to him, speaking to him like he was an infant.

Seth spoke up, tossing his empty can of pepsi forward, "Well it's sort of a team decision. If one of us goes. We all go. We're a team, we're only good because we have each other."

"It's not like we can never come back to it." Dean shrugged, "It's always there if we get bored." He said as they all nodded in agreement.

They all looked at each other for a few awkward minutes, no one knowing what to say just yet. It wasn't easy, but it was right. They barely made it out of Kevins reach, they were all too young to die, they'd had their fun for ten years, they'd caught their fair share of bad guys… and like Dean said, if they ever got bored, they could always go back for one last ride.

Punk budged AJ off him lightly so he could stand up, walking into the room and pulling out his suitcase from under the bed, grabbing the gun from it and walked back out to the balcony, AJ standing behind him as he held the gun in his hand.

Everyone watched as he threw the gun on the table, sitting back down and running his hands through his hair. AJ smiled, watching Dean take his gun from his back pocket. All of them carried guns with them everywhere, just incase they ran into trouble. Dean held the gun in his hand and smiled to it, throwing it on the table with Punks. Seth and Roman followed, their guns slamming down against Punk and Deans.

They all looked to AJ who rolled her eyes, walking into the room and grabbing her gun from her suitcase, walking back out, tracing her fingertips along the metal weapon. It was sad, growing up was sad. They weren't those twenty year olds anymore going out looking for a war. They were growing up, fitting into the normal routine that everyone else had.

AJ kissed the gun and threw it on the table with the four other matching ones, taking a seat back on Punks lap as they sat in silence, her head resting in against him as she frowned.

"I guess it's time to move on." Seth rubbed his palms together with a frown.

"Yeah." Roman nodded as they looked at each other.

It was something they had all thought about from time to time, but they never really thought they would have to face the music. Bullets were all they knew, it was hard. But like AJ said, they couldn't do this forever, they had other things to achieve in life other than taking down bad guys. They'd made a name for themselves, they'd saved a lot of people, survived a lot of obstacles they shouldn't have. There was nothing they wanted to change about the past nine years. It couldn't have been better. And not because they got to have fun using guns, or travel to different countries, but because they were together, throughout everything. All five of them. They entered this crazy world together and they wanted to leave it together.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

_A week Later…_

After their week in Abu Dhabi, they finally got back home to Chicago where AJ had officially been asked to move into Punks home. Her house was still in for closure and destroyed, it wasn't like she had anywhere to go, so she agreed and took what little belongings she had into his home that she knew very well anyway.

It was tough realising that they were giving up their number one priority in life, but it made Punk think and… AJ was his number one priority now, not his job. It was time to move on and be a good boyfriend. The boys were having a hard time dealing with things too, but Punk convinced them that it was the best thing. Once they found girlfriends of their own they would be enjoying the same happiness he had.

"What are you doing?" AJ asked, walking into what she now said as 'their' bedroom. She sat a glass of water she had went downstairs to collect on the nightstand, looking over at Punk kneeling down on the ground, looking through a large box.

"I'm getting rid of these." Punk told her, throwing the majority of his guns in the middle of the bedroom, having no use for them.

AJ walked around the bed and kneeled down across from him, picking up a few of the guns and touching them softly like they were so precious, which to her they were, it was all she knew.

"Don't you want to keep them?" AJ asked.

"I have no use for them." He shrugged, "I figured I would hand them down to the station. They're all good as new." He said, sorting through them quickly so they could get to bed and he could just hold AJ and remember she was his.

"It's late." She looked at the clock, "You have plenty time to do it tomorrow." She said, watching him stop what he was doing, nodding and moving everything to the side.

"I just want it over and done with quickly. You know… I don't want it to drag on." He told her.

"Hey, this should be something we're looking forward to doing. We can finally have a normal life. Time for each to do normal things. This is a new chapter in our life, one where it's just me and you." She shuffled forward to him.

"I know… and I'm so excited to move on, but it's tough. This is all we've ever known. What if we're not good at anything else?" He asked her.

"We don't have to be. We don't have to work. All we have to do is be there for one another, and you're doing a pretty good job of that so far." She smiled, "It can only get better from here." She smiled.

"Why are you so interested in the idea of us quitting the job?" Punk asked curiously.

"I have you now." She smiled, "The job used to be the only thing I had. I can look forward to a life with you." She said as he smiled sweetly.

Punk stood up, helping her up to her feet to, standing close across from her as he looked down upon her.

"What if we get bored?" Punk said with a smile, hearing her chuckle, watching her lean her head against his chest.

"I'm sure we'll find something to do." She looked up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling.

"Yeah? Like what?" Punk said with a sly grin, moving from side to side in anticipation, watching as AJ leaned up, pressing her sweet lips against his.

Whenever she kissed him, whenever her body was pressed against his and his arms were around her, it was like he could fly. He felt free with her, like nothing else mattered.

He picked her up, her legs circling around his waist as he turned and lay her down in the centre of the bed, her legs still circled around him, holding him close against her as she battled her tongue against his own, feeling completely safe. Being with him was her one true desire and she finally had what she wanted. Being in his arms felt like heaven and better.

"Promise you won't leave me." AJ looked up at him, cupping his cheeks as he leaned over her.

"Only if you promise not to leave me." He smiled as she nodded, looking up into those mysterious green eyes that she loved, watching him lean back down, this time burying his face into her neck, his hot breath making her shiver as he warmed her back up with his warm and soft kisses. He'd learned over the past week that her neck was her weak spot, as soon as he went to it she got goosebumps, her legs and arms became weak and her moans were eccentric.

Although he was upset about leaving the only job he ever knew, he had new job to fulfill now. Being a loyal boyfriend to the girl he worshipped and loved.

_The next day…_

Punk had called the rest of the guys to see if they wanted to join him in taking his guns and other weapons down to the Chicago police department. They agreed, having no use for their guns anymore, keeping only a small handgun to put under their bed at night, taking the rest to the department in which they knew a few guys.

"I can't believe you guys are retiring." The boss down at the department said, a friend of the guys, Jimmy.

"Me neither." Seth said, "But we had a good run." Seth smiled.

"You didn't half." Jimmy laughed, "You guys are always the talk of the city, you're like five individual superman characters. Speaking of five… where's Mendez?" Jimmy asked.

"She's at home." Punk said, "We just came to drop this stuff off. It's brand new, no need in it going to waist." Punk said, dumping the box up on the desk as Dean, Roman and Seth done the same.

"Thanks luck with the future." Jimmy smiled as Punk and the boys got on their way, heading out into the car park where their cars were parked.

"I'm telling you, we're going to get bored in a few months." Seth said, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked around at them all.

"I don't know about you guys but… I need a drink." Dean said, as if in pain.

"Nah, I better go home and see AJ." Punk said, wanting to get back to AJ and spend the night with her, not that his friends were beginning to mean less to him now that AJ was his girlfriend, but he wanted to enjoy a quiet night on the sofa with her watching cringey movies.

"Yeah, I'm probably going to get home and sleep. I'm exhausted." Seth said.

"I haven't even unpacked." Roman chuckled as Dean looked disgusted with them all.

"Well aren't you all just a jolly bunch of fuckers." Dean said, "I'm the invalid here." He said, pointing to his still casted leg, "Seth, you can drop me off at the bar on the way home." He growled, crutching away and cursing under his breath at his friends.

Punk just chuckled watching Dean crutch away aggressively, stabbing the ground with his crutches.

"Just give him some time." Punk laughed as Seth and Roman did, "I'll see you guys later." He said, smiling as he walked to his car.

_Later that night…_

Seth did indeed drop Dean off at the bar and he was currently sitting on a high stool, passing a empty glass between his two hands, sitting right at the bar for quick service. He was sad that they had gave up their heroic job, it made him think about how he really did need to find a girl and fit into the mold that everyone else seemed to fit around here. He wasn't ever boyfriend material. None of them really were, they were more of a one night fling every few weeks.

He was tired and his tiredness was preventing him from getting drunk. The mellow music played in the bar was almost putting him to sleep. He was extremely happy for Punk and AJ, it was great to see them finally be together like they always wanted, like he always knew, but he missed Punk in a way.

He continued to sit with his empty beer glass, his attention turning to the man and woman beside him. The woman's back was turned to him and all he seen was her short blonde hair, he could see the man almost drooling over her, begging for him to buy her a drink as she continued to tell him she wasn't interested. Some men just couldn't take the hint.

He tried to ignore it. It wasn't his business, but then he heard the man start to lower his voice in aggression towards the young woman, using foul language to her and trying to feel her up.

"Is there a problem here?" Dean turned to them in his gruff voice, watching the woman turn around to look at him, so much relief in her face at this man noticing how uncomfortable she was.

Dean stared at the girl with his piercing blue eyes, never seeing a girl so perfect in all his life. She was short, but not too short. Just a tad taller than AJ. Her hair was short and blonde and sit just on her shoulders. And her smile… gosh, her smile could have lit up the whole of his dark mind.

"It's none of your business." The man trying to harass the young girl said.

Dean just chuckled to himself, putting his finger in the empty pint glass and swirling it around in circles on the bar table, looking down at it as he spoke, very calm and quietly, "You harass a young girl in front of me, you make it my business." He abruptly stopped the glass and turned to him, stepping down from the bar stool and looking across at the man who he could have taken on any time of day, even with a broken leg, "Now get out of here." Dean said, watching the man back away, grabbing his jacket and stumbling out of the bar doors.

He turned back to the girl who was smiling, staring up at him as she held her jacket in her arm, an empty glass in her hand. She was so quickly attracted to him, he was a bit ruff and ragged, and she assumed that's what she liked about him, he smelt so fresh and good, his hair was cute and fluffy and his voice. It instantly got to her.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Dean asked the girl with a smile, sitting back up on his stool as she took a seat on the one beside him.

"Yeah. I'll have a gin and tonic." The woman smiled as he ordered them both a drink.

They talked for hours. The young girl was amazed by him, his speech and his gruff voice, the way he spoke and his stories he told with such melancholy. She was totally lost in him, he made her laugh until her ribs were sore and smile until her jaw felt broken.

Dean had never lasted this long with a girl before without her lifting her skirt. Oddly, he didn't want to take her home and be done with her in the morning. She was different, it felt different talking to her than talking to any other girl he had done. Her smile lit him up, made his stomach do summersaults, the good kind. He could have spoken to her for hours, she was so bubbly and sweet, full of perfection.

"It was really nice speaking to you, Renee." Dean smiled as he waited outside for the young lady's cab to come. Renee her name was. And such a pretty name it was to fit her. They'd only drank that one drink they first ordered. The rest of the night was filled with talking to each other. They had so much in common yet they were so different.

"You too." Renee smiled up at him, tucking her hair behind her ear as her cab pulled up.

Dean watched as she fiddled around in her purse nervously, taken a pen a scrapped piece of paper from a notepad she must have had in her purse, writing down figured numbers and passing him the note with a nervous smile.

"I guess I'll call you then." Dean smiled, watching as she got into the back of the cab, watching the cab drive away, already missing her for some unknown reason. He barely knew her, but he knew he wanted to know her. She was everything he wanted and more. She was perfect.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

"Are you going to call her?" AJ asked a tired Dean the next morning, cooking him breakfast in the kitchen while Punk showered upstairs. It was a common thing for all of them to switch around going to each others house for breakfast. Normally Punk would be dumped with everyone because his house was the biggest.

Dean had sat and told AJ about his eventful night last night while she cooked for him, as well as herself and Punk who had yet to eat breakfast. He was still mesmerised that he met such a pretty girl last night. He couldn't stop thinking about her all night and even had trouble sleeping.

"I don't know." Dean shrugged, finishing the remainings of his orange juice, sitting the empty glass down, running his hands over his hair in frustration, "I don't want to make a fool of myself." He told AJ as she sniggered.

"You're great with women. How could you possibly make a fool of yourself?" AJ shook her head like Dean was crazy.

"I'm great with women when I want sex. There's a difference." Dean told her, sitting on the high stool at the kitchen table and watching as she flipped the bacon in the frying pan.

"Surely you've gone a few dates before, Dean." AJ hissed, going into the fridge and taking out another carton of orange juice, passing it to him as she seen he had emptied his glass.

"That's the problem. I haven't." Dean admitted, feeling rather embarrassed that he had never had any sort of relationship with a girl before.

He was always the one out of the group to have drunken one night stands. Of course they had all had their fair share of one night stands, even AJ, but Dean's habit of them was repetitive.

"I don't know what girls like. I don't know if she'd want to go to dinner or just for another drink. Would she want me to pick her up or will I meet her there. I'm fucking clueless." Dean said in frustration as AJ frowned, plating up his breakfast for him, making a plate for Punk who she knew would be down any minute since the shower had gone off.

"Listen close… A woman likes to be lead. We don't admit it, but we do." AJ crouched over to Dean like she was telling him a scarring secret, "You tell her where you're taking her, make the decisions. Don't tiptoe around it or give her the option. You tell her, hey, I'm taking you for dinner tonight, I'll pick you up at eight." AJ said, standing back up straight from leaning over the kitchen table, "That will make her feel wanted, like you're really interested in seeing her. Giving her the option is basically in other words telling her you don't care where you go or when." AJ said as Dean nodded.

"Thanks AJ." Dean smiled, taking any advice he could get, especially from a woman, "Is that what Punk does?" He raised his eyebrows AJ's way.

"Yeah." AJ shook her head from side to side, "But sometimes we just skip dinner if you know what I'm saying." AJ winked to him as he sniggered to himself, enjoying the breakfast she had made for him, just in time to be accompanied at the table by Punk.

"Breakfast is there." AJ pointed to the plate next to Dean that she had made for Punk, "You want orange juice?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Punk smiled to her. He loved waking up to see AJ in his kitchen. He knew she loved to cook and in a big kitchen like his, she was in all of her glory. There was no better feeling than walking downstairs and into the kitchen where she was singing to the radio and flipping bacon in the frying pan, whether it was for just him or all four of them.

"Dean was telling me about the cute little blonde he found at a bar last night." AJ said, passing a glass of orange juice to Punk, taking a seat with them and eating her own breakfast. Of course hers consisted of fruit, toast and cereal because she never ate meat.

"Yeah?" Punk turned to Dean as he nodded, "Did you get her number?" Punk asked.

"She gave it to me when she left. I don't know if I should call her or not." Dean admitted.

"Why wouldn't you call her?" Punk asked in confusion.

"Well I've never dated a girl before. I might just wing it and see what happens. She's really funny. She laughs at all my jokes and…"

"Congratulations, you finally found the one percent of people who find your jokes funny." Punk patted him on the back as Dean glared at him.

"What I'm trying to say is, she'd fit in with us. She has our same sense of humour." Dean told his friends. He felt like he was speaking to his mom and dad about this girl he liked, searching for their approval and advice.

"Well go for it man. You have nothing to lose." Punk patted Dean on the back.

"Maybe she will start making you breakfast instead of us." AJ said as Dean smiled to himself, "Go call her once you're finished and tell her you'll pick her up for a date." She said as Dean nodded, having found some confidence in speaking to his two friends, completely ready for the night ahead.

_Later that night…_

"Punk... you have a card here." AJ said, in her pyjamas for the night, having just collected the posted envelope from the doorway, coming back into the living room where a few candles were lit, the lamps were down low and the TV was on quietly, enjoying an intimate night with her boyfriend.

"Let's see." Punk reached his hand out as she passed it to him, feeling her sit down beside him as he opened it carefully, reading the inside of the card straight away, a look of confusion on his face.

"What is it?" AJ asked, leaning forward to look at the card that was blue and celebrating of something.

"My brother had a kid." Punk said, confused as to why he was finding this out by card and not face to face.

"What? Let me see…" AJ said as he passed the card to her and sat back on the couch in confusion.

AJ read the card quietly into herself, smiling at the perfect picture of the newborn baby boy at the bottom, "Oh look…" She noticed as he sat up, "They gave your name as his middle name." AJ smiled to him, "That was sweet." She smiled, sitting the card on the coffee table, watching Punk deflate back down into the couch.

"I didn't even know he had a girlfriend never mind a pregnant one." Punk said. He didn't have a strong brotherly bond with his brother like he should have, but there wasn't any heat between them. He was happy for his brother. He was.

"We should visit. Buy a present and take it along." AJ suggested.

"And why should we do that?" Punk raised his eyebrows.

"Because I don't know…" AJ rolled her eyes in sarcasm, "Because you're the kids uncle maybe." She looked at him, watching him come to sudden realisation.

She sat with her legs underneath her, leaning her elbow on the back of the couch while turned facing him, running her hands through his hair as she smiled watching him shake his head.

"The only uncle I'll be is to Dean, Seth and Roman's kids." He told AJ as she frowned but smiled at the same time, "If my brother really gave a toss he would have told me before the kid was even born. I'm done giving a shit about people who don't give a shit about me." He told her.

"It's your decision." AJ told him.

"And my decision is that my brother can come see me if he's so bothered about me meeting his son." He said, "Now I'm pretty sure we were in the middle of something." He turned to her as she smiled, feeling him pull her on top of his body, her hands placing themselves on his masculine chest.

AJ couldn't tell him what to do, it was his decision. But he was right, why did he have to make an effort with someone who didn't with him his entire life. He had four amazing brothers just down the road that when the time came, he would be an uncle to their kids.

_With Dean…_

Dean had picked Renee up from her apartment in the city and took her for dinner at a very high class restaurant where he stuck out like a sore thumb. But Renee loved it, she loved that he was different and messy and didn't care about anything. It attracted her very much.

It was small talk back and forth, finding out about each other step by little step. She did look a little taken back when he told her about his job, but she seemed to relax when he told her they had just stepped down from it all.

Dean couldn't stop staring into her eyes. She was beautiful, she was classy but very funny. She was like an angel in this cruel world and he had latched on to her wings.

"I had a really nice time tonight." Renee smiled up to him as he walked her home, the restaurant being really near to her apartment.

She'd had such a nice night. He made her feel safe and calm, he was charming and charismatic. He was just so intriguing she just couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Me too." Dean agreed, proud of how his first ever date had gone, for not ever having done this before, he assumed he done a pretty good job.

"I'd really like to see you again sometime." Renee said, not wanting this to end right now. She was already planning to see him again. He had everything she was looking for and more. He was just perfect for her in every single way.

"I'd like to see you too. How about I give you a call to arrange another night." Dean suggested as she nodded with a smile, really liking the sound of that, already trusting that he would call her again. He did seem really interested in her and that kept her nerves at bay.

"Well… goodnight." Renee said, standing outside her apartment block, facing him as the moonlight shone in his eyes, his hair soft, fluffy and messy on top of his head.

"Goodnight." Dean smiled, watching as she reached on her tip toes, planting a kiss on his cheek and leaning back down, smiling sweetly to him with that smile he was already so madly in love with. He watched in a daze as she walked away up the steps to the apartment block, walking in the door and out of sight.

He felt so happy he could have danced. But he wouldn't of course. He'd never liked a girl so much before. He hoped and prayed that this would turn into something magical and they could create something beautiful like her.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

"How'd you think Dean got on with Rhianna." Punk asked his girlfriend, sitting on the living room floor with her, their backs leaning against the bottom of the couch, only half dressed, the candles burnt down and the TV on to through the night programmes.

"Renee." AJ corrected him, running her hands through her hair, so tired and exhausted from their energetic night.

"Same thing." Punk turned and smiled to her.

"I hope he got on good. He seemed to really like her." AJ said, leaning into him, mainly to keep herself from sliding down but also to feel his body and stick close to him the way she liked.

"He did." Punk agreed. Dean definitely was in that love sick phase with this girl, he did hope things worked out, "Do you think I'm being harsh on my brother?" He asked, watching her lift her head from his shoulder.

"A little." AJ admitted to him, "He obviously sent you the card to let you know, to invite you to come over. Maybe it was too hard for him to phone or come face to face to you. I think we should buy a present and go visit." AJ suggested.

Punk knew that was the right thing to do, he was just a little annoyed he was finding out about this way after he should have. He thought him and his brother were good with each other, he would have liked to know about his nephew the minute he was born, or before he was born which was more ideal.

"I suppose we could go visit for an hour or so." Punk shrugged, finally doing something right in his life, guiding by AJ of course. She always brought his good side out, no matter what.

It wasn't that he was mad at his brother for some life long feud they had. He was just upset that he hadn't spoke to him a while, especially when he was expecting his first son. He supposed he would go and be the bigger person.

They sat for a little while longer in the living room, leaning off of one another. Punk had realised that AJ was fast asleep against his shoulder. He wasn't surprised, they had been busy all night, he felt tired himself.

He stood up, just in his boxer shorts, lifting her up bridal style, only in her underwear too, looking so ravishingly gorgeous while laying asleep in his arms. He headed for the stairs and began to walk up, heading for their bedroom which he was more than happy to be sharing with her now. Sleeping had never felt so good when beside her.

He lay her down on her side, tucking the covers over her and pressing a soft kiss on her head, tucking her hair behind her ear and getting into his own side. He figured they would go out and buy something in the morning to take to his brothers.

He was glad AJ was here with him, he didn't feel so alone in doing things anymore. He felt like he could face his family with a smile. He'd never gotten the chance to go home and introduce any girl to his family because he was always scared incase his father would say something to her, but now he didn't have to worry about that.

_The next day…_

Once AJ and Punk woke tangled with each other the next morning, they headed out to the mall to buy some sort of present they could take to Punks brothers for the baby. Punk was clueless, he didn't even know where to start so he let AJ pick. He'd never been around a baby in his life, he didn't know what they liked or what sizes to be in clothes.

Once AJ had picked out an outfit with a cuddly toy, buying a gift bag to put it in, writing the tag from both of them, they headed to his brothers house in a downtown estate.

"When was the last time you seen him?" AJ asked Punk as he drove, keeping his hands steady on the wheel whilst she sat in the passengers seat with the gift bag at her feet.

"A few years ago." Punk said, taking a turn into the estate that his brother stayed in, driving slowly over the speed bumps.

"Why haven't you seen him sooner?" AJ frowned.

"I guess I've never really had time. I've always had work." He told her.

"You mean you've always had an excuse." AJ raised her eyebrows as he nodded, knowing she was right. He did need to make time for his brother, but only if his brother made the time for him. It was a two way street, "So did you and him never get on?" AJ asked.

"We did most of the time. He was annoying just like every older brother. We sort of drifted when I left, the only time I ever seen him was if someone died or got married in the family." Punk admitted.

"I don't get it." AJ shook her head as he turned to glimpse at her for a second, turning his eyes back to the winding road ahead.

"What?" Punk said.

"Why did you not want to come see him then?" AJ asked with confusion.

"I don't know. I was mad. Who tells their brother they had a son through a cheap card through the post box?" Punk said, "He could have called, or came around. He knows where I live." Punk said, finally pulling up to the house address that he had for his brother.

"Well I'm sure either way he'll appreciate you coming." AJ smiled, rubbing his hand that was on the hand brake gently.

Punk smiled. With AJ behind him he could do anything, she gave him all this courage and strength that he didn't know he had. He was nervous, but she was here, and no matter what happened today, he was going home tonight with her, to hold her in his arms and keep her safe.

They both got out of the car, walking up the drive of the rather nice house, AJ standing timidly behind Punk as he rang the doorbell, turning around to face her with a small smile as they waited.

"Punk." Punks brother answered the door with a surprised smile, never suspecting that his brother would actually show up.

"Mike." Punk took his Chicago cubs hat off, holding it in his hand.

AJ stood beside Punk now, looking at his brother that was very alike to Punk, but very different.

"Come in." Mike smiled, moving back into the house and opening the door to let his brother and what he suspected his girlfriend into the house. He may not have got on with Punk when they were kids, but he was proud of his little brother for everything he had done and for standing up to their father when he was child. He could never have done it. But that was just Punk. Stubborn and forever standing on his own two feet.

"Mike… this is AJ. AJ, Mike." Punk quickly introduced them to each other as they stood in the living room where Punk had tripped up over a dozen pacifiers and stuffed cuddly toys.

"Pleasure to meet you." Mike extended his hand to AJ as she shook it.

"You too." AJ smiled, watching Punk hand over the present for the baby who for some reason she couldn't see.

AJ sat down next to Punk on the sofa, listening to Punk and Mike's conversation, varying from different things to their outer family, to the hawks and cubs, to Punks working status. She wondered why they were so distant from each other when they seemed to get on so well. She understood that they maybe weren't close, but not seeing each other for years at a time was ridiculous. But then she stood, with a brother and sister who she hadn't spoke to in nine years. She couldn't criticize anyone for how they treated their siblings.

"So… where is the little guy?" Punk asked curiously with a smile, the real reason he came here was to meet his nephew.

"Sarah is just changing him." Mike smiled to himself.

"You know… I didn't even know you had a girlfriend, never mind a son." Punk said, "It would have been nice to find out before the kid was born." Punk said truthfully.

"I didn't think you'd be interested. I knew you'd be busy with work. But then Sarah shone a light, you're the only uncle he's going to have. He should get to meet you. He can even stay at your house one night if you'd like." Mike smiled.

"Alright, one step at a time, yeah." Punk chuckled, not up to the idea of taking full responsibility for a child.

Mike's girlfriend soon enough showed face with baby Zac Phil Brooks in her arms, one month old, still completely tiny and such a little bundle. Punk didn't even only have his nephew to meet, but also his brothers girlfriend who he shook hands with, as well as AJ.

"Mike has told me all about you. I didn't know if I was scared to meet you." Sarah smiled as Punk chuckled.

She was a sweet girl. Probably too sweet for his brother, but as long as he treated her right, it was none of Punks business.

"Do you want to hold him?" Sarah asked curiously, watching Punk edge his butt off the couch, leaning forward and rubbing his sweaty palms together.

"I've never held a kid before." Punk said in honesty as Sarah frowned.

AJ felt like this was a moment between Punk and his brother, she was just here for moral support anyway. But she felt to give Punk a confidence boost himself, she would show him that holding a baby isn't all that scary.

"I'll hold him." AJ piped up with a smile, taking hold of the baby from Sarah, cradling the sweet baby boy in her arms and smiling as he made the cutest little noises.

Punk watched as AJ mushed over the baby boy, rocking him back and forth gently in her arms, stroking his cheek gently and smiling. He never knew she had a soft spot for baby's. It was such a perfect sight. She looked in all her glory with the baby.

"Can I hold him?" Punk asked AJ, an itch to hold his nephew once he seen how easy it looked whilst AJ held him. The baby looked so content and comfortable just laying in his girlfriends arms. It was a perfect picture.

Mike smiled as he watched AJ put the baby into his little brothers arms. He promised himself that he would look out for his son way better than he did for his little brother. He still woke up with guilt every morning for not helping his brother whenever he cried out about their father.

AJ smiled at the cuteness of the baby, making little O shapes with his mouth as he yawned in his uncle's arms. She knew Punk just needed a little guidance with these kind of things. She knew he was scared of small things, scared of breaking or hurting them.

"AJ, why don't you help me get some drinks." Sarah piped up as AJ clicked on, standing up and leaving Punk with his brother and nephew, heading out into the kitchen with Sarah.

"Hi little guy." Punk smiled, never feeling anything like it, holding a baby felt so real and natural. He felt like a giant compared to his nephew.

"I'm sorry I never called before. I didn't think you'd be that interested." Mike admitted as Punk looked up.

"Of course I'm going to be interested. You're my brother." Punk said, turning his attention back to the baby. It was almost impossible for him to take his eyes from him.

"I know I tell you this every time I see you. But I can never forgive myself for ignoring you whenever you came to me for help. I should have been there for you. You shouldn't have dealt with all of that when you were a kid. I should have looked out for you." Mike said with sincerity.

"It wasn't like it was high school bullies, Mike. It was our dad." Punk said, "I'm over it. The scum is dead, I don't need to think about it anymore." Punk said, feeling like from his fathers death that he had some justice now.

"But I was horrible to you man… I remember when you were five, I was eight. You climbed into my bed during the night and told me you were scared. I pushed you out and told you to go back into your own bed." Mike ran his hands through his hair, "I never knew you were being so serious all those years."

"It's over with now. I don't want to keep living in the past. We're good now. Apart from you hiding this little guy from me, we're good. I know we don't see each other a lot… but we're good." Punk said, "You have a nice home, nice girl, adorable son. I've got a nice house, nice girl… we're proving our old man wrong." Punk said.

"I'm just glad you done what you said you were going to do. Dad died knowing you made it out in the big bad scary world, and I know how much that must have fucked him up." Mike said, chuckling slightly, "But you're right… he's gone now, we can all move on."

Punk nodded, turning his attention back down to the baby, taking a hold of his nephews tiny hand, holding it between his thumb and index finger. He was glad he came today, he was glad AJ had persuaded him to come. He knew his brother was sincere about being sorry all those years. He just wished everyone could move on now. Especially now that another little Brooks member had been born.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Thanks for making me go today." Punk said, on the drive home from Mike's. He would never have went if it wasn't for AJ and right now he was so glad he had went.

"I don't know why you were so afraid of going." AJ admitted.

She could have watched Punk hold a baby all day if she had to. As soon as he pushed those foolish fears of doubt to the side, he held his nephew for over fifteen minutes, just staring down at him. She thought Punk was fearless, but he seemed to be terrified of those he loved.

"I wasn't afraid." Punk told her.

"You can jump off the top of a roof building on to a car roof, but you couldn't find the urge to go visit your brother." AJ raised her eyebrows, finding something oddly strange about that.

Punk just grunted, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove, pulling up to the house and parking it, watching AJ get out and head on into the car while he sat, his hands draped over the steering wheel, yawning as he leaned his head down onto the round wheel.

He was just really glad he had AJ. His life had been a mess and it finally felt like he had some sturdy ground to stand on when he was with her. She shone so many lights in his direction that he never knew of. He loved her. So much. He wondered how lucky he really was each day to wake up with her. She wasn't just a pretty face but she was sweet and had a kind heart. When she held the baby today, he just got so many glimpses into their future. It was terrifying but it was such a beautiful sight.

He got out of the car and locked the vehicle, walking up the steps and into his home, closing the door behind him and walked into the cold house. He threw his car keys over on the table beside the front door and walked on into the house.

"It's freezing in here." Punk rubbed his palms together approaching AJ who was taking her coat off over in the living room.

"I told you to keep the heating on before we left." She smiled to him, throwing her coat over the back of the sofa, turning around to see him standing right in front of him.

"We can warm ourselves up though." Punk said as she nodded, watching her grin at so many ideas running through her mind.

Punk picked AJ up, coming second hand nature to him now, her legs circling around his waist as did her arms around his neck. He felt her press down on his lips. Her perfect sweet lips dragged along his as he began to walk upstairs, walking slowly since he couldn't see his step in front of him.

After managing to execute the flight of stairs without tripping, he made it and charged into their bedroom, shutting the door with his foot, placing AJ in the centre of the bed, his favourite place to see her.

AJ watched him with anticipating, bending her legs up as he stripped his t-shirt off, revealing that colourful chest that she loved to drag her hands along. He then mounted over her and reattached his lips with hers, running his fingertips through her soft long hair while he got lost in her mouth.

She couldn't stop herself from circling her legs around him and scraping her nails up his torso, she wanted to feel him as close as he could get to her.

Punk leaned back as she sat up, pulling her t-shirt up and over her head and reaching behind to unclasp her bra, throwing both items over on the floor, cupping his cheeks and falling back down on the bed with him, feeling him drag his lips and tongue down to her neck where he knew by now that she gone mush when he went there.

"Punk. Oh, that feels so good." AJ moaned with lust, enjoying the warm wet feeling of his tongue and lips peppering her neck with kisses. It was such a pure feeling, a feeling of him being here.

Punk continued to drag his lips against her sweet, caramel skinned neck, but also drove his hand down her body, digging it inside her jeans and panties, cupping her sensitive flesh as she shivered.

"You're so wet." Punk groaned as soon as he parted her swollen lips, feeling a pool of her essence already coating his fingers. He stroked her clit agonizingly slow, watching her roll her head back onto the mattress.

"N...No teasing." AJ shook her head with a gasp, "Just do it." She begged, craving him to be inside her more than anything.

Punk discarded his hand from in her pants and pulled them down her slender legs, along with her black panties, throwing them over on the floor, leaning back himself to unbuckle his own jeans as she watched with the little patience she had.

"Hurry." AJ begged with a raw voice, her core quivering and begging for him.

Punk heard her, she was begging, almost crying. She needed him and he was going to be there. Everytime, he would be there. His pants and boxers were gone in a flash, AJ's begging quickening his pace up a little.

He wasted no time in parting her legs and settling in between them, his groin in line with her own, pulling back only to find his way inside her glistening opening.

"Shit." He moaned, leaning forward as he filled her completely, watching her close her eyes and was no better feeling.

AJ pulled him down as soon as he started piercing in and out of her, indulging in his sweet lips to discard her curdled moans, her nails dragging down his back slowly, feeling like she had a grasp of him while she done so.

"Oh… yes, keep going." AJ moaned, only seeing him in the room, everything else a massive blur. She pulled the sheets, the pillows above, his shoulders, her own hair… anything in sight that could give her some relief in all this intense pleasure she was feeling, that he was giving her.

"AJ… you feel so good, baby." Punk exclaimed, feeling AJ's slippery walls keeping his throbbing length held tight, making it oh so much better for him.

"Harder… faster." AJ begged, not long before Punk began to slam himself into her, crashing his hip bones against hers, the sound of skin hitting skin filling the room, mixed with both of their moans and heavy breathing. He healed her everytime, he filled her and made her feel loved, something that she wasn't used to, something that she adored, especially when he was the one loving her.

"AJ… fuck." Punk cursed, leaning down and kissing AJ every now and then, just to show that he loved her on the outside, as well as the inside. He toyed with her neck, left feathery kisses on her breasts and tangled his hand down between their raw passion, stroking her clit with a feather touch as she writhed underneath him.

"Oh… right there!" AJ yelled, "I'm gonna…" AJ couldn't even finish her sentences, pulling Punk right down, his face inches from hers as she pecked him, feeling so much intensity and pleasure rising in the pit of her stomach.

"Let go." Punk whispered, leaning his forehead against hers, "Let yourself go." He whispered with a fiery passion in his voice, feeling extremely close to his climax, an angry pool of fire ready to just burst out any minute.

"Phil…" AJ looked into his eyes, watching him as he lost his breath every few minutes, hearing his birth name and for the first time, not being mad. He wasn't mad because the person calling him it was the one person he loved and trusted.

"April…" Punk returned the favour, inches away from everything coming to a crashing halt, already feeling AJ's walls close down on him, watching her shiver, their foreheads never leaving each other.

"Oh god… I'm coming." AJ said with a soft whimper, feeling her full body turn to mush, everything becoming tight and sensitive as she shivered and trembled, holding on to Punk as their foreheads stuck together, watching his eyes watch her every expression, indulging in what his work could do to her.

Punk wasn't far behind her, everything feeling weak in that moment of ecstasy, the room spinning around as he pressed his lips against his girlfriends, his warm seed filling her completely and internally.

Punk waited for just a second, looking into her eyes with silence, nothing needing to be said, everything they felt for each other was just expressed, there was no need for words.

He rolled off of her body, their bodies slick with his sweat and bodily fluids, finding their way into one another again however, their bodies tangling and cuddling.

AJ sighed with great satisfaction, a smile on her face as she had gotten what she wished as did he. It was her favourite way to fall asleep, leaning in against his bare body, being held by someone she knew loved her.

_The next morning…_

AJ woke up the next morning alone in bed, lying on her stomach and hugging into her pillow, the sheets all over the place as well as her hair. She could hear the shower head dripping from in their room like what it did when someone had just been in. It wasn't like Punk to just leave the house without letting her know.

She swung her legs around outside of the bed, reaching for his violent gentlemen t-shirt on the floor that he had been wearing last night, taking it and putting it over her frame before she got showered, heading downstairs to see if Punk had maybe left a note.

She tiptoed downstairs, her arms folded and her hair still a natural mess. She walked into the kitchen, smiling as she seen him sitting on a high stool in the middle of the kitchen at the table.

"I thought you'd gone and left me." She smiled, walking towards him, noticing the brown bags from the cafe down the road as well as a coffee sitting where she normally sat.

She took a seat as he spoke up, "I just left to get breakfast. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." He said, watching her dig into the bag, smiling as she pulled out the blueberry muffin which he knew was her favourite.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" She asked, taking a knife from the drawer beside her, halving the muffin down the middle, trying not to make that much of a mess as she bit into one of the halfs.

"I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." He told her, "How'd you sleep?" He asked her.

"I slept good." AJ smiled, feeling him lean forward and kiss her cheek, holding her around the waist while he done so, leaning back as he picked his phone up from the table.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to say. I had a message from Dean when I woke up, he was asking if we wanted to go on a double date with him and Renee." Punk turned to her as she smiled.

"Yeah. That's a nice idea. Tonight?" AJ asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "He says things are going good for them so far." Punk said.

"That's great. I'm glad. One down… two more lumps to go." AJ chuckled, referring to Roman and Seth, watching Punk laugh.

Things were good. Punk couldn't have been happier. He was on top of the world with AJ, his friends were still around, Dean was finding a love he never thought existed. They were moving on.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Warning; A lot of heat, angst and uncomfortable reading.**

* * *

Punk and AJ had arrived first at the restaurant they were meeting Dean and Renee at, already ordering their drinks and small chatting with one another. Punk had never seen Dean with a girl before in his life considering the only time Dean was with girls was in his bedroom. He was proud of his friend and happy for him that he found what he had found in AJ.

As soon as Dean and Renee arrived, Dean introduced Renee to Punk and AJ. Renee was slightly nervous about meeting Dean's friends, well half of them. She knew how much they meant to Dean just by listening to him talk about them. She would hate to make a bad impression.

Punk and AJ didn't expect Renee to be so polite and classy. They were shocked, but a good shocked. She was sweet and quiet, very different to what Punk pictured her.

It was a relaxed night, the mellow music played in the bistro bar and restaurant, they sat in the corner like proper couples, talking about the weather and boring topics along they lines. It also gave Punk and AJ a chance to get to know Renee a little better.

"So where do you work?" Punk asked, him and Dean sitting on one side of the table while they both faced AJ and Renee.

"I'm a shop assistant in one of the stores at the downtown mall. Nothing special." She chuckled nervously. She was really glad Punk and AJ were being so kind to her, she was super nervous about this date when Dean said he had invited Punk and AJ.

"So does that mean we can all get free discount in the future." Punk joked as Renee smiled.

It was a casual meeting and AJ had grown very fond of Renee already. She wasn't all of a girly girly like she assumed, she looked forwarded to having a girl to talk to in the group instead of four boys.

The night did come to an end eventually and Dean was extremely happy about how it went. Besides Punk and AJ telling embarrassing stories about him to Renee, she seemed to really have taken a liking to both Punk and AJ and for that he was glad.

"I really like your friends. I can't wait to meet the rest of them." Renee announced as she walked home with Dean after parting their ways from Punk and AJ who were like an overjoyed mom and dad, seeing their son walk his girlfriend home.

"I was scared they would frighten you away." Dean admitted, his hands in his jean pockets as she shook her head.

"No. They're so sweet, and funny. I can see they care about you a lot." Renee smiled as Dean did, folding her arms as they walked along the busy street together, approaching her apartment.

"I care a lot about _you." _Dean said, watching her turn round, tucking that soft blonde hair that he loved behind his ear and smiling up at him.

"I care a lot about you too, Dean." Renee smiled, taking his hands in her smaller ones, looking into those sparkling blue eyes that attracted her into him the moment they first met.

"I've never felt this way about anyone before." Dean admitted to her, feeling her reach her hand up to caress his stubbly cheek. He didn't think he could keep his hands to himself any longer, he wanted her, now that he knew her, and fell in love with her personality even more than her looks, he wanted to take her to the moon and back.

"My apartment roommate is out of town this weekend." She looked up at him with desiring eyes, taking her hand from cupping his cheeks as he smiled in response. She took a hold of his hand firmly, leading the way up the steps to the apartment block, walking in the door and not looking back.

* * *

Throughout the next few weeks things were flying in the right direction for everybody. Renee had met Roman and Seth who she loved just as much Punk and AJ. Dean had really shown her around Chicago, taking her to places she never even knew existed. She'd never enjoyed dating a man so much. He really took care of her and loved her the way she liked.

Punk and AJ were just as happy and had agreed to watch baby Zac for a night in a few days. To AJ's surprise it was Punks idea and she was extremely fond of the idea too. Every minute and moment she had with Punk she treasured, never ever regretting agreeing to dating him. It was the best thing she'd done in nine years. They were made for each other.

Roman and Seth were still girlfriendless but weren't particularly looking for girlfriends anyway. They were extremely happy for Dean since he was the last person they expected to be in a relationship, and of course they were happy that Punk and AJ were doing well with each other.

AJ had taken a liking to Renee so much that they had arranged to go out again, just them two to a bar one night, without Punk or Dean. Dean was happy that the two most important women in his life were bonding together. It was more than he could have asked for.

"Where did you meet Punk?" Renee asked, in the corner of a bar with AJ, touched that she had called her to go out for a night in town. Without Dean or Punk.

"I met him… in fact, I met all of them nine years ago. Down at the Chicago police department. I was training there, they sort of picked me up and took me under their wing. I didn't start dating Punk until two months ago." She informed Renee. It was nice for once to get out and talk with someone who was the same gender of her. For once she could talk about girl things instead of being restricted to that when the boys were her only friends.

"I know. Dean has informed me all about you two. Quite a story." She smiled as AJ laughed merrily.

"I know. I keep wondering to myself why I never gave in sooner." AJ shook her head to herself, "What about you and Dean?" Renee asked, taking a sip from her soda that she was drinking.

"Everything is great. Apart from one thing… I don't know if it happens when you're out with Punk but… he's really protective. Too protective." Renee said as she took a drink from the flimsy straw in her glass, watching AJ nod.

"He's a former cop. He's going to be more paranoid than other men. He just cares about you, wants you to be safe." AJ smiled, "It's a good thing." AJ said, shining a different light for Renee.

"I suppose. I've just never had someone care about me so much." Renee admitted.

"Dean's a good guy. He'll look after you." AJ smiled, thoroughly enjoying her night with Renee. Like she said, it was nice to get out with a girl for once, she'd spent nine years listening to four men talk about hawks games and cubs, woman, sex and alcohol. She was so glad she finally had someone to escape with into the night for a girly chat. Not that she was much of a girl, but she still had needs. She still needed her sanity.

Punk had offered to come pick AJ up, but she insisted she could walk home by herself since her and Renee had to go opposite directions home. She thanked her for the nice night, knowing they would do it again some time soon.

It was a Saturday night, almost going on midnight. She was a trained cop in so many levels, she wasn't afraid of walking home to her boyfriend at night, although ever since the crash, she had been doubting her skills.

She walked down the dark pathway, passing noisy clubs and bars on her way, taking her phone out and texting Punk to tell him she was on her way home. She assumed he was probably in bed, he didn't need to worry about her, she could handle herself out in the big bad world. Well… that's what he thought.

She was just about to send the text, adding three kisses to the end of the message when she felt a sharp tug on the bottom of her sweater. Having past all the bars and clubs she was in suspense of who it was. She turned around with free spirit, only getting a small glimpse of the man's hooded figure before he wrapped his hand around her mouth, dragging her down a side alley and slamming her body against the brick wall.

She tried to fight back, she heard Punk, Dean and the rest of the boys yelling at her like they normally would, giving her tips on what to do and where to turn, but her body went frozen, she couldn't move, she felt paralysed, she couldn't yell for help or scream. She was so close to her house yet so far and she couldn't find any strength to take this horrible figure down.

She wasn't yet sure what he was after, whether it was her phone, her money, she was clueless, until she felt him tug at her jeans, uncovering her mouth where she began to whimper.

"P-Please… don't." AJ shook her head in fear, trying her best to move some part of her body, whether it be her arms or legs, but they just wouldn't move, nothing would move. Her body was frozen with fear. No one had ever tried to hurt her in this way before, she was helpless and begging for this horrible creature behind his hood to stop.

She cried, but this evil face wouldn't show her any remorse, she begged yet all she got in return was his hands pulling her jeans down just for enough access. She'd never been so frightened and scared. She'd never experienced this type of attack, this was one of they moments where she needed Punk to come save her.

"Please stop." AJ whimpered, feeling secluded and closed in on this terrible, downgrading moment. Whatever this man was, she felt him pierce through her like a sword, weakening her with every single year lengthening thrust.

She got to a point where her voice had broken into nothing and she could no longer find the words to use, not that they made a difference. For once she couldn't fight back, she felt intimidated and scared, embarrassed and ashamed. The hooded figure showed no sympathy towards the clearly broken down girl, he didn't let her out of his rasping, dirty and tight grip.

She never felt so lost in her life. She wanted to scream but she had lost the motion, her arms wouldn't lift to push him away and her legs were parted by his slimy hands, no hope in kicking him away either. She was shaking with fear, terrified if this man wanted anything else. She felt helpless and ashamed, her full body frozen and shutting down. Her nine years of kicking men like this man to the curb had left her brain and she felt like pitiful, weak girl who needed desperate saving.

She felt like it had gone on for years, she was sore, her back was aching and her insides were turning inside themselves, as soon as he freed himself from her after getting what he desired, she heard him mumble something under his breath. She tried so hard to look up into his face, but he was gone in a flash, leaving her a broken mess in a side alleyway. How he could just walk back out into the world like nothing had happened terrified her. She leaned against the brick wall, coming to her senses, pulling up her underwear and jeans slowly, wincing at the pain of her cramped groin.

She couldn't come to terms with what had just happened even though she knew fine well. It may have been ten minutes at the most, but to her it would last a life time. She felt like someone was wrapping their hand around her neck and choking all the air from her lungs. She'd never felt fear or freightment like it.

Her eyes went to her phone on the ground, wincing she picked it up, stumbling forward from leaning on the wall and feeling like she was going to keel over. She looked down at her phone, the brightness of the device hurting her eyes from being in such darkness for so long. She seen that the text to Punk hadn't been delivered, the signal cutting off down this alleyway, coincidentally.

She wanted as far away as possible from this alley, she didn't even want to walk down this street again. She felt sick to her stomach. Her eyes were barely open, she could barely walk in a straight line. Any passing stranger would have assumed she was drunk. She still couldn't believe what had just happened. She got out of the alley way, pressing send on the message to Punk, limping her way down the rest of the street, not looking up, her head buried to the ground.

She couldn't unfeel what she just felt. She still could feel him stabbing inside her, his criminal hands running up her body. She had never been in such a situation. She normally would have fought back, kicked and scraped. But no one could ever have prepared her for how it felt to be pushed up against the wall in alleyway, her jeans being torn from her, her voice turning to dust as it spoke out.

She finally reached her house, dragging her frame up the steps, unlocking the door with the set of keys she had and walking in, closing the horrible world out and leaning against the door. Her hair was over her eyes, sticking to the tears that she had continuously cried. She was frightened and ashamed. She'd never been in that situation in her life. She could still smell his smoky breath in her face, his blurred hooded figure continuing to pierce into her roughly, no thought to if this woman was a wife or a mother, just another victim in his eyes.

She put her keys on the table at the front door, limping into the kitchen and looking under the sink where the cleaning products were, lifting out the bleach, holding it tightly in her hand, hoping this could kill away what that man had left, knowing deep inside that no product could clean that man's sins off of her body.

She dragged herself up the stairs, not carrying herself the way she normally would, with confidence. She had nothing to be confident about. She was lost, she felt like she had been drugged and couldn't get out of this nightmare.

She walked into their bedroom quietly, looking at Punk lying in bed fast asleep, lying on his stomach hugging into the pillow above. Not even the sight of Punk could make her smile or cheer her up. She felt physically sick. She found it hard to get a clean breath. She couldn't blink without being back in that alley way.

She walked into the bathroom, locking the bathroom door, turning the shower on and taking each item of clothing off, aching as she took her underwear off, leaving everything in a pile in the corner, never wanting to wear those clothes ever again. Even if she did wash them more than once.

She stepped into the shower, shutting her eyes as the steaming hot water sprayed on her back, wetting her long hair. She found it hard to stand still for so long, her legs were sore and she just wanted to curl up in the fetal position and cry.

She grabbed the bottle of bleach, squirting some on her hand, crying reckless tears as she did so, rubbing the bleach on to her body, feeling it burn her skin with a sting, oddly feeling some relief from it, feeling like the sting was burning away everything she had been left with.

After nearly using half a bottle of bleach, she eventually got out of the shower, hoping she hadn't woken Punk. She dried her aching and abused body roughly, not missing a wet spot, refusing to. She shook whilst putting on her pyjamas, opening the bathroom door with her weakened hand, thankfully seeing Punk still sleeping, turned on his side now as he snored lightly. If only he knew. No… he would never know about this. No one would know about this.

She slowly walked over to the bed with her dirty clothes, opening the bottom of drawer beside her bedside cabinet, stuffing the clothes to the very back of the drawer, shutting it over slowly and sitting down on the bed, wincing as she done so, biting her lip as she cried, knowing if she didn't she would waken Punk with her whimpers.

She lay down awkwardly on her side, her back facing Punk as she dampened her pillow with silent tears. She couldn't have felt any lower. She went silence when she felt Punk move around, jumping out of her skin when she felt Punk put his hands on her waist.

"Sorry, baby. Cold hands." Punk groaned with his sleepy voice, keeping his hands back to himself, falling back to sleep.

AJ shuffled closer to the edge, scared he would do it again. Holding on to the covers tightly, her legs clenched together as she was left with the scarring to whatever horrible man it was that caused her this pain. She felt scared and even though Punk was centimetres away from her at this moment in time, she felt so alone. Like she could trust nobody.


	19. Chapter 19

AJ woke up the next morning, feeling like she was still inside her nightmare. She had barely slept all night, listening to Punk peacefully sleeping in the unknown beside her. Everytime she tried to turn her body or attempt to move, it was just too stiff and sore to do so. She kept replaying her attack over and over in her head, wondering what she could have done to stop it. But there was sincerely nothing, her body froze like a deer in front of headlights. She may have been trained and prepared for the cruel world, to take down bad guys and fight for what was right, but she had never been prepared for what was done to her late on last night.

She drifted to sleep just before Punk got up, sleeping for about an hour, soon enough waking up gasping for air and bolting up on the bed. She turned to look at Punks side of the bed, seeing it empty with relief. The last thing she needed was him wondering why she was having such a bad dream.

AJ couldn't control her brain as it continued to remind her with every spinning second that she was abusively attacked and sexually abused in the meanest of ways. It took her so much strength just to sit up in bed and turn around, her legs dangling off the edge as she shivered in fear. She'd never felt this way before. She'd never been scared, especially not under Punks watchful eye. She envied the man who done this to her, no doubt walking the streets today without a care in the world while she suffered all of this terrifying pain, still being able to feel his dirty hands running up her, everything being sore and aching with physical and emotional pain. She didn't think she could ever feel the same again. She didn't think she could go outside. She had such a anxious, uneasy depression in her stomach, thinking about keeping this from Punk. Which she one hundred percent was. How could she possibly sit down and tell him she was hurt in this way, when she couldn't even properly face it herself.

She didn't think she could go downstairs and pretend like everything was ok, but she figured she would have to, to make sure Punk didn't find out. He would be destroyed at hearing such a thing, especially when he was in bed sleeping when it happened. She knew he would blame himself.

She got out of bed, walking slowly to the dresser in the corner, taking out a sweater and wrapping it around her damaged body. She felt sick to her stomach just thinking about it all. She couldn't suffer like this when she was the victim.

She walked into the bathroom, putting both hands on the edge of the sink, leaning forward as she took a deep breath, bolking and dry heaving as she thought about the feeling of evil slamming inside her. She lifted the toilet pan up and threw up some contents in her stomach from last night, emptying her stomach clean as she took a piece of toilet paper, wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet, about to walk out of the toilet when she got a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

She frightened herself. She looked shaken with fear and like a statue that was blinking. She had to get herself together if she didn't want Punk to question her out of character time yesterday, she was just a normal woman, living a normal life, happy with her boyfriend in the home they shared. But everything had changed. And changed, forever.

She tried to practise her smile in the mirror, only getting so far until she had to drop her fakeness and realise she had nothing to smile about. She wondered if she ever would? Especially when this was forever on her mind.

She left the bathroom, zipping her sweater up as she took her time heading for the stairs, whispering soft words of reassurance to herself that she couldn't even hear or understand. She took each step with great care, keeping a firm grip on the banister, hearing Punk clutter around in the kitchen, no doubt making breakfast.

She still felt like it was all just a bad dream. She asked herself time and time again, why her? Why, out of all the woman in the world, why did she have to be cursed with such a horrible and life ruining attack?

She held her posture up just a little bit, after realising she was quite hunched over unlike her normal self, and headed into the kitchen to face the one man she only ever wanted to touch her.

He looked so happy, smiling as soon as he seen her, not even knowing what had happened to her last night.

"You finally decided to get up?" Punk chuckled as he watched her timidly walk around, pulling out a stool and sitting down. AJ just smiled with hazy eyes, realising she was up later than usual, only from the fear of facing the world, even if it was just out of her bed.

"Yeah." AJ smiled, trying to act as normal as she possibly could.

"You look tired. What time did you get in last night?" Punk asked her curiously, pouring a glass of orange juice for her, watching as her hand shook whilst reaching for it, a strand of her hair over her eye, shielding her face from him deliberately.

"You didn't hear me?" AJ asked, trying to act as calm and cool as she possibly could. She watched as he shook his head, not remembering hearing AJ come in last night, "I came in around twelve." She told him.

Punk made strange eye contact with her, only it wasn't eye contact, since her eyes weren't looking at his, in fact… they were trying their best to look anywhere but him. He wasn't an idiot. He knew something was wrong or bothering her, and something had came to his mind already, just by the features of his girlfriend.

"Were you drinking last night?" Punk asked her as she shot her head up.

"What?" AJ shook her head.

"You look like you have a hangover." Punk frowned, "I won't be mad if you were drinking." Punk said, only having a few occasions where AJ had drank, other than that, she never really bothered with the stuff, especially with his influence. But he understood, she was out with Renee, they were both woman, they probably ordered one too many cocktails. He wasn't running a dictatorship. He was totally fine with it.

"I…" AJ looked at him, oddly seeing him not look mad or upset at the idea of her drinking. She knew she shouldn't have preyed on that as her give in, but she just couldn't tell him. No one was in her shoes, they didn't know how it felt. How embarassed, how sorry, how upset and frightened she was.

"I'm sorry." AJ shook her head as she looked up at him, an easy cop out to her real and serious situation, watching him just wave his hand back and forth.

"You can do what you want, AJ. If you want to drink I'm not going to stop you." Punk told her with a smile. Feeling annoyed with himself that she couldn't talk to him about something he wouldn't react so strongly about.

"I won't do it again." She shook her head, apologising for something she hadn't even done, her only way to cover up why she was carrying herself so low.

"AJ. You can make your own decisions. Don't let my habits influence you. You were out with Renee, you had a great night. It's ok." He smiled as she shuddered. Her night was anything but great, if only he knew.

She felt awful for lying to him in the first place, but covering it up with some petty excuse made her feel so much worse. Her body ached, her head was pounding and every time she blinked for the second needed, she was taken back down that alley way.

"Why don't you go back to bed. I'll bring you some breakfast up. Dean and Renee are coming round but I can just tell them you aren't feeling good." Punk said as AJ looked up to him with such a thankful smile.

She could have kissed his feet. Getting a free pass to lie in her bed all day, closing her eyes tightly and pretending last night never existed. She couldn't turn it down.

"Thank you." AJ smiled, so much thanks in her crackling voice, never being so relieved in her life. She slid slowly off the stool and walked out of the kitchen, putting her hand over her mouth as she headed for the stairs, silent tears falling down her cheek. She wasn't only scared and embarrassed anymore, she was frustrated that she couldn't tell Punk, she was ashamed that she had to agree to his assumption of her drinking, just to cover her abusive night up.

She wanted to just lie in bed all day, cry until she had no more tears. She got into her and Punks bedroom, walking over to their bed and lying down, hauling the covers over her frail and mistreated body. She couldn't think straight, she was scared, petrified, everything just keep replaying over and over in her head and it made her feel physically sick.

_Later on…_

Punk never thought any of it. He assumed AJ had maybe had a drink or two with Renee, considering she looked like near death this morning. He had no idea what his girlfriend had been through. He was completely clueless.

Dean and Renee had popped round to the house for a little while to see Punk and AJ, only to find just Punk.

Punk had been up to check on AJ several times, as well as leaving a tray of food on the bedside cabinet incase she got hungry. Everytime he went up to check on her she was fast asleep, almost hiding underneath the covers. He was a little suspicious on how long a hangover actually lasted for, certainly not a full day, but he just left her sleeping anyway, she looked like she needed it this morning. He had Renee and Dean to keep him company for now.

"Why is AJ in bed again?" Dean asked, swigging over his beer in a huge gulp, sitting in Punks living room, placing the beer back down on the coaster on the coffee table. He'd only picked up that AJ was in bed and wasn't going to come down, he didn't catch why.

"She has a little bit of a hangover." Punk raised his eyebrows to Dean as Dean chuckled slightly. AJ wasn't a drinker, at all. She'd had about one or two in all of the nine years that Dean had known her, it was very uncommon to hear that she had been drinking. He hoped Renee wasn't influencing her.

"Wait a minute…" Renee interrupted, shaking her head with serious confusion, "Did you say she has a hangover?" Renee asked.

"Yeah. She said she was drinking last night. She came down this morning and looked like a zombie." Punk recalled.

"AJ wasn't drinking last night." Renee remembered, "She stuck to sodas." The blonde girl looked at Punk with sheer confusion.

Punk just frowned with confusion. It wasn't like AJ to ever lie, she was the most honest person he knew. He also didn't expect her to agree to a thing she never done, it confused him. He felt a tad hurt that she had lied to him however. He wondered deeply why she would possibly agree to his comment about her drinking.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

AJ had slept on and off all day and night, barely touching a drink or item of food that Punk had left beside her on the bedside cabinet. She felt herself hidden under the covers the full time, trying to shut out all of the light and world from her. She woke up every few hours, gasping for air, hoping that it was all just a bad dream, but it wasn't. Everything had actually happened and it terrified her still. Her self confidence was ruined, her smile was damaged and her trust was equally as damaged.

Later on in the night after she heard Dean and Renee left, she heard Punk tiptoe upstairs, meaning she had to put her smile on the best she could. She watched him come into the room, shutting the door quietly behind him and making his way over towards her, sitting down at the edge of the bed beside her and looking down at her lonesome face.

"How you feeling?" Punk asked, watching as AJ sat herself up against the headboard, not liking the way he was looking down at her.

"Ok." AJ nodded, "I'm sorry I've been in bed all day." AJ apologised to him, fumbling around with her hands, still not making eye contact with him.

She felt and watched him holding her hands still, looking up at her as she eventually met her eyes with his, so much known in them as he looked at her.

"I know you're lying to me." Punk said.

AJ felt her heart sink to the ground, the guilt and the shame. How could he have possibly known she was lying. Oh, of course he knew. She'd known him long enough for him to catch on. She didn't know how she could hide herself from him anymore. But she just couldn't tell him. She knew he had so much right to know, but she just couldn't admit what happened to her to him, she couldn't even acknowledge to herself that it happened.

"W-What?" Was all she said.

"Renee told me you weren't drinking last night. Why did you say you were?" Punk shook his head, trying to rack his brain all night to think why AJ would lie in such manner, and why she had been in bed all day for no reason, shutting herself from the world. It worried him.

AJ didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to recover herself from this lie. She should have known along that he would have found out.

"I just… I thought…" Everything was just too much, her stomach was in knots, not just did she have the fear of what had been done to her, but she now had the fear of having to tell her boyfriend who would flip out as soon as she told him. She felt like such a useless mess for once in her life and just wanted the ground to swallow her up.

"Is everything ok?" Punk asked her with a concerned heart.

"I was just… I just didn't feel well. My head was taking one of it's bad spells. You were talking really loud and I was just agreeing with you. I couldn't really remember what you even asked me." AJ shook her head, creating yet another lie to bounce off of. She tended to still get agonisingly sore heads from her crash which was expected, sometimes they did catch her a little of guard and she needed to lie down. She felt so low of herself using that as her excuse.

"Why couldn't you just tell me that? You know I understand your head thing." Punk said, grazing her hand on her thigh as she slid it away. He was so confused by her actions since she woke up, she felt so distant from, like she was purposely trying to get out of his reach, "Are you mad at me for some reason?" He shook his head.

"No… no, of course not. I'm not mad with you." AJ said sincerely, "I just… haven't been feeling well since I woke up. I didn't think that was a good enough excuse to be in bed all day." She said, hiding her shaking hands with her sleeves on her sweater.

"Of course it is. If you're sick I'm going to take care of you. I don't expect you to be anywhere but your bed if you aren't feeling well." Punk said, watching her nod, still not daring to look him in the eye as she spoke. She seemed so cold and far away from him, so distant and upset, "Are you sure that nothing is wrong?" He asked again.

"I'm sure. I'm just not feeling very well. I'll be fine in a few days." AJ told him, trying to send a positive smile his way, looking at him in the eyes. He didn't deserve for this to be hidden from him, but she just couldn't tell him. Her body wouldn't let her say the words. She didn't want him knowing that she had been attacked in such a violent way and that she couldn't defend herself. He would never let her leave the house on her own again. Saying that however, she didn't think she could ever go out of the house again without company. The paranoia she had and anxiety of going back into the world was enough to make her sick.

"You'd tell me if there was something else, wouldn't you…" Punk nodded, hoping she would too, watching her lift her head up, slowly and hesitantly nodding his way.

"I'm fine, honestly. I just think I'm coming down with something." She said as he nodded, understanding. He was surprised by her actions and the way she was acting, it wasn't like her to lie, or get sick for that matter. She lived a healthy lifestyle and was prone to never being sick or getting the flu.

"Ok… well, I'm going downstairs. Do you need me to bring up anything when I'm coming to bed?" He asked her, standing up from sitting on the edge of her side of the bed.

"No." AJ shook her head and watched as he leaned in for a kiss, shutting her eyes and pressing her dry lips against his, holding back her rotten tears as she done so, not liking the feeling of someone being so close to her and touching her in that way, even if it was her boyfriend who she loved and trusted.

Punk pulled back, looking at her open her eyes back up, unclenching all her tight muscles. He took her word for it. She obviously just wasn't feeling too well. In a few days she'd be better and back to herself.

He tilted her chin up as he stood up off the bed, switching the dim lamp on beside her on the bedside cabinet to give the dark room a little light, "I'll be up soon." He told her as she nodded, beginning to fix her pillows and sink back into security, watching him walk out of the room with the tray with non touched food. She'd only been drinking water all day, she hadn't touched any food.

She wondered when this everlasting gut wrenching feeling would pass, and she could move on with her life where she left it. She wondered if she could ever get over it, if it would affect her for the rest of her life? What if it came to it… that she had to tell Punk. She just wanted to move on, but her body wouldn't let her, her brain wouldn't let her. Everytime she tried to reassure herself that it was all ok, she just had flashback after flashback of that horrible night and that horrible alley way. She could still feel the unwanted hands running over her, her body frozen against the hard wall. It was ruining her. Not just her as a person, but her relationship as well. How could she possibly ever let Punk so much as touch her again, it was hard enough taking a kiss from him.

_Later that night…_

Punk had cleared up downstairs, figuring he would take an early night in bed since AJ wasn't feeling too good. He figured she needed some home comfort and some friendly faces to make her laugh, so he invited everyone round to their house for breakfast, including Renee too. He knew how much AJ loved having breakfast with everyone, it was her favourite meal with her favourite people, and it also gave Renee more opportunities to get used to the group. Her and Dean really were doing great, he was proud of Dean for being in his first committed relationship, he could tell how hung up he was on Renee.

He was sure AJ would be up to everyone being around. She was sick, not dying. He assumed she would feel better after having a full day of rest and a good night sleep, she had to, or else he would start to worry and possibly would consider making a doctors appointment for her.

He cleared up downstairs, doing the small amount of dishes and then heading upstairs, already seeing AJ fast asleep, again… hiding under the covers from him. It hurt him to see her sick like this, but he was here to take care of her, he always would be.

He left her a sweet kiss on her cold head, turning the lamp off beside her side and stripping his clothes off down to his boxer shorts. If she wasn't sick or deliberately hanging off the edge of the bed away from him, he would have pulled her into him to cuddle, giving him some comfort to fall asleep but he just let her be, obvious that she wanted her own space. And mainly because he didn't want her sickness bug that she seemed to have.

_The next morning…_

AJ was woke up the next morning, feeling less tired but still emotionally wrecked and drained, dying slowly on the inside. She heard loud voices from downstairs and noticed Punk had disappeared from his side of the bed. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of going downstairs and facing everyone.

She knew she had to. Or else Punk would get above and beyond suspicious and force her to tell him what was really wrong, which she didn't want to. She knew she had to shower from being in bed all day yesterday, so she got up, her body feeling a little stronger than yesterday which was a day of hell, period.

She enjoyed her shower, thoroughly washing everywhere although still feeling dirty from her attack, no matter how hard she scrubbed the bar of soap on her body. She jumped at every sudden noise she heard, she had a watchful eye forever over her shoulder, even when there was no possible chance of someone being behind her. It was the scarring she had been left and she hated it.

She got into comfortable clothing, looking at her figure in the mirror and sighing, the bags large under her eyes carrying all her fear and anxiety, her skin pale as snow, her heart just as cold. She was a mess and she knew she was. She had been left with all this depression and stress, this mental fear of ever trusting or being confident around other people. Why did she have to have this everlasting suffering. She wanted to cry for 90% of her day, the other 10 she would no doubt be closing her eyes and pretending everything was just one big nightmare.

She headed downstairs slowly, taking deep reassuring breaths to herself as she walked closer to the kitchen, the sound of her friends getting louder and louder, her head pounding already with their loud voices. She knew Punk would have invited them around to, quote on quote, cheer her up. Nothing could cheer her up. Not even them.

She walked into the kitchen as their heads all turned, watching their blank faces for a few seconds until they all smiled and greeted her with joy, tugging and pulling at her like a rag doll as she disguised her flinches the best she could.

"How are you feeling?" Punk asked AJ as she made her way through her rowdy friends, standing close to him for comfort.

"Ok." AJ mumbled, "I'm not that hungry." She told her boyfriend.

"What?" Dean said, "We've got all your favourites." Dean sighed, Renee sitting on his lap at the kitchen table. Roman was keeping an eye on his frying bacon while Seth was joining in talking to AJ.

"Yeah…" Seth nodded, "We even brought that jam you love." Seth pointed across the table.

"Thanks, but I just… I haven't got my appetite back." She told them as they all nodded with slight confusing as well as uncertainty.

"Did you have a good sleep?" Punk asked her, going back into their own quieter conversation.

"Not really." AJ shook her head. She couldn't help but be mad at him for inviting their friends over when she was feeling this way. Of course she had no right to be when he didn't even know what was wrong with her.

Her head was sore from the loud noise of her friends, the sound of plates banging and cupboard doors shutting. She felt like the room was echoing and spinning. She needed out.

She elegantly excused herself from the kitchen and went into the living room for a breather, running her hand through her hair and biting her lip to stop it from quivering in fear.

She turned around as soon as she heard someone tiptoe behind her, staring across at Punk as he had his hands out in the air, staring at her with confusion.

"What is wrong with you?" Punk asked her as polite as he could, "Ok, you aren't feeling well… I thought that your friends would be able to cheer you up. But you aren't even giving them a chance." Punk said.

"My head is sore. Everyone is so loud. I… I want them to leave, just get rid of them." AJ said, "You should have known better not to invite them around when I'm feeling like this." She spat.

"Why are you being so dramatic over a three day sickness you have?" Punk batted his eyes at her, very confused by his girlfriends actions regarding this flu she seemed to have.

"I…" AJ held her words back as she stared at him coldly, "I am not being dramatic." She took a deep breath, "I don't know if you remember, but a helicopter came crashing down on me not that long ago. My head is killing me. I am tired, you aren't helping. Just get rid of them." AJ gritted her teeth, trying not to shout.

"I can't just get rid of them, AJ. They're our friends." Punk said, "Why are you being so difficult? Just take some painkillers and go back to bed if you're just going to snap at me." He said with a tired expression.

"Oh yeah, I'll go lie in bed upstairs while you are all down here." AJ tilted her head with sarcasm, "I just want to hear my own thoughts, lie on the couch with you and just stay silent. Please, can you just get rid of them." AJ begged, something in her just lashing out at Punk, even though he didn't deserve it.

"You are unbelievable. Why do you have to be so difficult?" Punk said, muttering to himself as he walked away from her and back into the kitchen to unfortunately tell his friends they had to go.

AJ placed her hand on her forehead and deeply sighed. She felt so warm and stuffy like she couldn't breathe. Everything in the room was spinning, she felt like she was going to throw up even though there was nothing there to throw up. She had no idea how much this would impact her life, she still couldn't decide what was actually worse, the attack or living with it after. She was falling apart bit by bit and not even Punk could save her. Especially not if he didn't know what was going on.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21

After Punk had to abruptly throw his unhappy friends out of the house, giving them their breakfast to take with them, he headed back into the living room to talk with AJ. It wasn't like her to be this grumpy and down and he was no longer buying the bullshit story that she was telling him about being not well. Something was bothering her and he wanted to know.

He walked into the living room, looking at her sitting on the couch, hugging her legs as she kept her eyes on the TV, curled into a little ball.

"I think me and you should have a little talk, don't you think?" Punk said as she turned her head, looking up at him with fear, watching him inch closer to her and sit down next to her.

"Talk about what?" AJ asked, shaking her head with fake confusion.

"What's going on with you the past couple of days. You're really distant, AJ." He leaned forward, clasping his hands, "You won't let me touch you, you always want to be by yourself. You're freezing. I hear you throw up during the night." He looked back at her.

"That's because I'm not well, Punk." AJ rolled her eyes.

"No… no because then, then I hear you bang your head off the toilet and cry. You sleep so far away from me in bed I can barely reach you. You're giving me the impression that something is up, and not just the flu." He said, "Don't lie to me twice." He said sincerely meaning it, being lied to once was hard enough, but twice was just a slap in the face.

AJ knew he knew what was up. Not technically, but he knew she was bothered by something. Of course he would. He had so much right to know, a bigger right than anyone else. She just didn't know if she could physically say the words, tell him what had happened to her. What if he blamed her? What if he didn't believe her? She was just so terrified of everything. She supposed she had nothing to lose. The only thing she could lose was the one person she needed throughout all of this, and lying to him like this, keeping it from him was only pushing him further away.

"I'm not ill." She shook her head, swallowing the lump in her throat as he turned on the couch to face her, looking at her as she dried a rolling tear from her check.

"I know you aren't." Punk said, knowing fine well that she didn't have the flu. He wasn't a child, he couldn't be persuaded by such minorities.

"On Saturday…" AJ began, knowing that she couldn't hold it to herself any longer, she needed someone to hug her and tell her that everything would be fine, that nothing like this would happen to her again, "When I was out with Renee. I walked home myself." She told him, watching as he listened closely.

"It was only a ten minute walk to the house, I didn't need you to come get me. I was… in the middle of texting you, to tell you I'd be home soon and…" She turned to the side and bit her lip. She hadn't said the story out aloud yet, not even to herself. It sounded even worse out loud than it did in her head.

"And what?" Punk shook his head.

"Someone… pulled me around. I thought it was maybe someone I knew, or someone asking for some help, maybe a drunk guy. Nothing I couldn't handle. But his hood was up, I couldn't see his face. He… pulled me down a side alley. It was dark and cold. I thought I was going to die." AJ admitted, watching Punk just stare at her, not knowing if he could believe her, if he wanted to believe her.

Punk didn't want to ask, but he had to, he felt his blood boil like a kettle, his hands were getting tighter inside themselves, he wasn't sure what to think.

"What happened?" He asked without hesitation, shutting his eyes.

"I thought maybe he wanted my phone, or my money. I was ready to just punch him in the face and call you and the guys. But he didn't want that. He… He _raped _me." AJ said, not believing herself until she just said those words out loud.

She watched as Punk turned around, putting his hands over his eyes, like he was shutting out all the horrible images going through his mind.

"I was _raped._" She told him, "I asked him to stop, he didn't. I tried to fight against him but I couldn't move, my body had froze. I swear two years had gone by. He just wouldn't stop." AJ said, drying her eyes as he turned back around to face her, his eyes hanging low, his ears ringing in pain from hearing this awful, awful story.

"D-Did… did he hit you?" Punk asked her, not that being raped wasn't hard enough.

"No." AJ shook her head, "He was rough. From going to what I'm used to with you, your gentle and kind hands… to whatever that was that night. My body hurt. I tried to scream but I couldn't get anything out. I've been through a lot of pain, I've dealt with a lot of things, but… I've never been so scared in my entire life." She looked at him as his lip quivered slightly, his hands running through his face.

He'd never listened to anything so painful in his life. He was already ready to track down whoever it was that done this to AJ and leave him in a pool of his blood, tears, vomit and guilt.

"I only kept it from you because I was scared. I didn't want anything to change between us but I know it will. I don't want to be touched or kissed, I'm just reminded of what happened to me." She told him, "Please… don't hate me." She shivered, her whole body shaking with fear as tears spilled down her cheeks, watching him turn around and tut.

"I could never hate you. Certainly not for this." Punk said, still having a hard time digesting what AJ had just told him. In his defence, raping an innocent woman was worse than killing someone. AJ was going to have to live with this for the rest of her life, everytime he touches her she'll be reminded of what happened, everytime she goes outside and passes an alley way, she'll be reminded. He wasn't going to let her face this alone like she wanted to, he was going to be here for her.

"Why me?" AJ shook her head as she stared into his eyes, her tears never ending, feeling him shuffle closer to her, wrapping his arm around her to pull her into him, feeling her lean her head down on his chest, his t-shirt dampening within seconds.

"You aren't alone in this. I'm here. Don't be afraid." He told her, "I love you. I promise I won't let anything like this happen to you ever again. I'm going to find this guy and I'm going to double the pain of what your feeling for him." He told her, stroking his hand down the soft strands of her hair.

"Impossible." AJ whispered, leaning in against him, feeling comforted, "No man could understand how this feels." She said.

She felt so much weight being lifted off her shoulders from telling Punk. It felt comforting to know she didn't have to hide anything from him anymore. Her heart was racing throughout the full process of telling him, but now she could relax in some way and cry her heart out to him.

Punk had a hard time listening to AJ cry recklessly in his arms. She'd been through so much and this was her moment of clarity, to just let herself go. He couldn't believe someone would be so cruel to do this to her. Regardless of what that man was thinking, he must have realised that this girl was a daughter to someone, a sister, a best friend, a girlfriend. It was pure evil, that was the only way he could look at it as.

"Listen to me…" Punk tilted her head up and dried her tears with the pads of his thumbs, cupping her cheeks and looking down at her, "You're safe with me, ok. I'm going to find whoever it was that done this to you and he's going to pay. Don't be scared, you're safe here." He said, laying a kiss on her head, hugging her back into him as she continued to cry.

Punk knew that right now, AJ needed him, she needed him to stay sane and needed him to comfort her the best he could, to be there in all her times of need. But when the time came, when AJ felt ready to be left alone in the house, he was going out and he was finding whichever scum it was that felt like it was acceptable to do this to an innocent woman.

"Could _you _tell the boys? I don't think I could face them." AJ shook her head, knowing their friends had a right to know, they did seem worried about her this morning at breakfast.

"Yeah. I'll tell them, don't worry." Punk said, running his hand up and down her soft arm, listening to her cries turn into silent sobs, his t-shirt swimming in her tears that she cried.

If only he had went and picked her up. He felt so helpless and useless that he couldn't save AJ like he had been doing for the past nine years, especially when this was the most saving she'd ever needed. He still couldn't really believe that she had been hurt in this way, it was cruel and unfair. No woman deserved what AJ had got. His job was to keep her safe and he felt like he had let her down.

The night grew dark very quickly and they stayed sitting on the couch, the full house in darkness as AJ cried and cried, hugging into Punk like he was a teddy bear. She hadn't got a chance to cry out loud yet, to really show her emotions. Telling Punk was the right decision, she felt just that little bit better now. Maybe things would get better now that she had support and comfort in her boyfriend, she could only hope.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22

After a few hours of Punk holding AJ as she cried in the dark living room, she finally cried herself to sleep and was out cold in Punks helpless arms. He'd never seen AJ cry. He'd known her for nine years and not once had she ever shed a tear or even a frown, it was so hard for him to see her like this and to understand what had happened to her. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling.

He laid her down on the couch, taking the blanket from over the back of the soft material, waving it out and laying it across her body to keep her warm. Her face was all red and puffy from giving into the tears and she was now in a deep deep sleep, her breathing soft and gentle.

Just the thought of her being dragged down an alleyway, forced into something she didn't want, begging and pleading for whoever it was to stop. It was tearing him apart.

He turned on the lamp beside the couch to give the living room a little bit of light and switched the TV on for some background noise, incase AJ woke up in a panic. He wanted her to feel safe in her own home.

He lay a gentle kiss on her head and went in reach for his sweater on the opposite couch, putting it on and zipping it up while he watched her sleep. He made sure every window and door was locked tight and once he felt he was good to go and leave her to sleep, he headed out of the house, locking the door tightly behind him and texting his friends to warn them that he was coming round.

He knew they'd all be at Seth's apartment since the cubs game was on. They usually watched it at his house but since they knew AJ wasn't up to doing anything, they trailed over to Seth's.

He didn't know how he could even begin to tell them what had happened, but he knew he had to, they had a right to know, they cared about AJ a lot.

He walked all the way to Seth's apartment, needing the air to clear his head before delivering this awful news. The door was already opened as Seth had left it for him once he texted him.

He had sweaty hands and was fidgeting with everything in sight. It wasn't particularly something he ever wanted to do, tell his friends that his girlfriend had been raped a few nights ago.

He walked on into the apartment, knowing they would be expecting him, hearing them from all the way down the hall, screaming at the TV and enjoying their peaceful night, not knowing what was about to hit them when he came in.

"Punk… grab a pepsi from the fridge and get your ass in here." Seth said from in the living room, hearing Punk walk down the small and only hall.

"Did you bring AJ?" Dean asked from in the living room, watching as Punk appeared to their eye sights, all of them staring blankly at him as he looked like a walking ghost.

"Hey man, you alright?" Roman asked with a weary glance, looking at Punk as he walked into the living room slowly.

"Can you turn the TV off." Punk asked quietly as Dean grunted.

"Why? It's the last few minutes." Dean sighed with frustration.

"Dean, just turn it off." Punk looked at his friend with gritted teeth, watching Dean reach for the remote, switching the TV to darkness, all three of them staring at him.

"Is everything alright? You aren't in trouble, are you?" Seth asked immediately, watching Punk put his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath.

"I'm not in trouble." Punk shook his head, "It's AJ." He said, watching them all one by one stand up from the couch.

"What's wrong? Is she ok?" Dean asked.

They were all waiting on Punk to tell them something awful, they could tell by Punks actions and the way he was carrying himself that something was wrong. And they were ready to go to war.

"I don't really know how to explain it all to you, so… I'm just going to come out and say it." Punk said, no way would he have been able to tell the story to them like AJ did, it was hard enough listening to it from her but telling it to his friends was impossible, "On Saturday night… when AJ was walking home, she was… she was raped." Punk hesitated, his hands shaking as he told them, watching them all shake their heads, not believing such a thing.

"No…" Seth shook his head, "Not Mendez… she, she wouldn't have let that happen to her." Seth refused to believe what he was hearing.

"Raped…" Roman sat down and ran his hands through his hair, in so much shock and confusion.

Punk gave them all a minute to take it in, just like he needed when he found out, watching them get upset, then angry, then back to being upset.

"Who?" Dean asked with gritted teeth, hoping that Punk knew who it was so they could all go out and fuck the scum up.

"AJ didn't see him. She said he had his hood up." Punk said, taking a seat and running his hands through his hair, "I don't know what to do." He looked at them all helplessly as they looked at him with sympathy.

All three of them forgot from time to time that Punk was more than just a friend to AJ now. They couldn't imagine how Punk must have felt, knowing his girlfriend was hurt and violated in this way.

"Go out and kill the son of a bitch who done it to her." Dean said with rage in his voice, all three of them in so much shock, so much anger coursing through their veins. AJ was their little sister, they would kill for her. Whoever it was that hurt her sure didn't know she had four dangerous men in her life.

"No." Seth waved his hand at Dean, "You need to go home and stay with her, make sure she's ok." Seth looked across at Punk who he could tell was terrified, "She needs you. Now more than ever. Let us take care of the guy." Seth looked from Roman to Dean who nodded.

"She's so broken. I don't know what to say or do." Punk looked at them like an innocent clueless child.

"Just be there for her." Roman said, "Tell her you're there. Let us deal with tracking the guy, we'll call you if we find anything." Roman told Punk, all three of them set on getting this evil man who had hurt their best friend.

"Do you know if AJ washed the clothes she was wearing on the night it happened?" Seth asked Punk.

"I don't know, I haven't asked her." Punk shook his head.

"If she hasn't, text me. I'll come round and pick them up later, I'll take them to Clint to see if he can find anything on them, a hair, fingerprints… any body fluids." He pained to say.

Punk stood up and nodded, "I'll ask her and text you." Punk made a promise. The guys were right. What AJ needed right now wasn't him going out and leaving her so he could beat up some guy, she needed him to be with her and to hold her, to make sure she was ok and she knew that he was here. He knew the boys would be fine without him.

"We'll call you as soon as we find out anything." Dean told Punk, patting him on the back brotherly, "We'll get him, we'll make him suffer, put him in jail." Dean told Punk.

Seth nodded and spoke, "Yeah, we all know what they do to rapists in prison." Seth said as Punk nodded, folding his arms, his eyes hanging low, never feeling so much emotional pain like this in his life.

_Later that night…_

Punk had got back home to find AJ still fast asleep on the couch, probably the best sleep she had got since everything happened. He hoped that by her telling him she would be able to sleep and eat more than what she was.

He didn't want to disturb her, so he headed upstairs and remembered he had to look for the clothes she was wearing the night that she was attacked. He had a hard time remembering what she was wearing but then he remembered. He remembered complimenting her before she went out, wrapping his arms around her waist and deeply kissing her, missing getting to do that.

He searched in the washings, in the dresser, in the bathroom, everywhere, until he realised she no doubt hid the clothes as soon as she got in. He assumed she would never want to see them or wear them again.

He looked under their bed and cupboards, in her bedside cabinets, finally finding them buried at the back of the bottom drawer beside her bed. He pulled them out slowly, not fumbling with them or folding them up, keeping them scrunched up the way they were.

He slowly headed downstairs with them, into the kitchen and placed them into a plastic bag, texting Seth for him to come pick them up to take to their friend who worked in the forensics department down at the station.

He left the clothes by the front door, ready to hand to Seth when he gave them over, and headed back into the living room where AJ was still fast asleep. He could have watched her sleep all day. He didn't know how awful men could be until now. Forcing someone to do something they didn't want to was always horrible, but forcing someone into something that was meant to be shared between a boyfriend and girlfriend. He just hoped this wouldn't affect her for the long haul.

He sat watching her sleep for at least another hour. Seth had been and gone for the clothes when she finally began to stir and wake up.

"Hey, you ok?" Punk moved onto the couch she was sleeping on, sitting on the side as he looked down at her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah." AJ said, nothing better than waking up to him.

"You've slept for a few hours. I've been and told the guys everything." He said, running his fingertips over her forehead, doing anything, even just the smallest of things to try soothe and make her feel good, without the obvious.

AJ frowned and sat up from lying down, throwing the blanket away and hugging her arms, "How did they take it?" AJ asked him with a sigh.

"They were upset. Shocked." Punk told her, "They're out trying to find the guy right now." Punk chuckled at their friends love and care for AJ, "I hope you don't mind… Seth asked for your clothes that you were wearing on the night, I found them in your drawer. They might be able catch some DNA off them." Punk said.

"I don't mind." AJ shook her head. There was no better feeling than knowing he friends were tearing down walls to find this evil man that done this to her, "Why aren't you out looking with them?" AJ asked, figuring Punk would want to be the one to catch the man and crush his head with his bare hands.

"Because I'm here. Looking after you." He told her, "You aren't alone in this sweetheart." Punk told her, cupping her cheeks as she leaned into his hand, shutting her eyes at his touch.

"I'm just really scared, Punk." She opened her eyes back up and looked across at him.

"I know. But you don't have to be. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. It's my job to look after you." He told her as she shuffled over to him, leaning her head against his shoulder, taking a deep mellow sigh.

"Just hold me." AJ asked in a whisper, feeling his arms immediately wrap around her body, holding her close to her body as she shut her eyes, feeling completely safe in his arms.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23

As the night ticked on, AJ and Punk headed to bed, but neither could get to sleep. They both just lay with their eyes wide open and alert.

AJ wondered if their love would ever be the same. She could barely let him kiss her never mind anything else. She felt like her whole life had been ruined by this one evil man walking the streets out in the world.

"You know…" Punk took his hands out from under the covers and placed them on top, fidgeting around with them as he turned his head to face her, "When I was little, I used to think it was the end of the world. I didn't think I could escape. And I know… it isn't any comparison to what you've been through. But it will get better. I promise it will." He told her with a small smile.

"I don't want to live with it for the rest of my life, but I know I'll have to." AJ sighed, "It's always going to be there, haunting me." She told him. She knew there was no possible way for anyone to understand how she felt, especially not a man.

"You'll have better days. Soon enough this will all just be a huge nightmare. Just promise me one thing…" He asked of her, watching her nod for him to go on, "Don't shut me out. Let me look after you." He said.

"I would never shut you out. I need you." AJ whispered as her voice curdled.

"We're going to find the guy who did this to you. And we're going to put him in prison to rot. I'm not going to let this ruin the rest of your life. You're too important to me." He told her.

AJ turned on her side and shuffled over into his body for the first time in a few nights, laying her head on his chest, feeling him wrap his arms around her. His arms were like a force field, protecting her from everything evil.

"I don't feel like myself. I don't feel the way I used to. I don't feel unbreakable or confident. I can't remember how to take down guys or hold a gun. I feel like I've lost so much of myself." She sighed, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his body.

"You just think that. You'll be broken, I wouldn't expect anything less. But I'm here. The guys are here. You'll find yourself again." He said, stroking his fingertips through her soft hair.

"I don't want this to ruin my life." She admitted with the truth, "Why… Why am I the one suffering when I never done anything. I didn't ask for it." She said with a lump in her throat.

Punk felt a tear drop fall on his chest from her wounded eyes, "Don't let it ruin your life. You can overcome this. I know you. I know you can." He encouraged her, "One day, you're just going to look back at this moment, and remember it just as it is… a past nightmare." He told her.

AJ knew he was right. One day she would look back at this and see it as a nightmare. Things would get better, they would get worse before getting better, but eventually it would get better. As long as she had Punk, things would always be better.

_A few weeks later…_

The forensics department down at the police station were still working on AJ's clothes and the samples they had taken from them. Dean, Seth and Roman had backtracked AJ's steps the night she was attacked, and found the alley that it took place. There wasn't much they could really do at that moment in time, their prized possession they were waiting on was some hopeful DNA coming from AJ's clothes. They just had to wait patiently.

AJ had been taking slow but improving steps out of her comfort zone, with Punks help of course. She was back to eating three meals a day and had been outside. Just joining Punk at the grocery store. She knew if she never got out of her house sooner than later, her anxiety would just get worse.

Punk dedicated his days to giving AJ full attention, hugging her at night, she'd even began to enjoy their kisses again, but nothing further had gone on. He had prepared himself for a long absence from her body, but he wasn't complaining. He wanted her to regain confidence on her own.

He loved to make her smile and laugh, it'd been so long since he'd seen her gorgeous smile. He took every opportunity he could to get a giggle out of her.

The boys, including Renee had been over multiple times to visit. AJ needed her friends around her, she'd never needed them around her so much than now. Even if it was just to watch a movie, or for dinner, they always made sure to come round with a new supply of chocolate for her.

Punk felt like he was slowly getting the AJ he knew back, and he couldn't have been happier. However… she had gone back to throwing up from time to time, as well as her additional headaches. She told him it wasn't because she was scared, she couldn't really explain why she was throwing up, she just felt so nauseous from time to time for no apparent reason.

"Maybe it's food poisoning." Punk suggested to AJ as she was yet again, in the bathroom hurling up the contents in her stomach.

"I've ate the same as you." AJ told him, knowing that if it was food poisoning, he would have it too.

Punk stood at the bathroom door in their room and watched as she leaned forward again and threw up, the sound making him cringe.

"I was heading around to Seth's, but if you need me here." Punk said, figuring he should stay with AJ since this sickness she had wasn't seeming to be given her a good time.

"No…" AJ shook her head after wiping her mouth with a piece of toilet paper, "You go. I'll be fine here." She told him. Although she appreciated what he had been doing for her these past few weeks, always being by her side. She did still want him to go out with his friends and have a good time. He had a life too.

"Are you sure?" Punk asked, not convinced that AJ would be fine, walking over to her and crouching down to where she was sitting on the floor.

"I'm sure. Go out with your friends." She told him, not giving him the option.

"Ok. But call me if you need me." He watched her nod. He headed in for a kiss on the lips but remembered she had been throwing up, "I think I'll stick with the cheek." He said as she chuckled, pecking his lips on her soft cheek and standing back up straight.

He knew she was far from back to herself, but he had seen so much progress. She was smiling and laughing again, not flinching as much, letting him kiss her and cuddle her in bed. He just wanted her to be happy again. It was his job to make her happy.

_Later that night…_

Punk, Dean, Roman and Seth were all gathered in Seth's apartment to watch the blackhawks game, to indulge their manliness senses on one another for a few hours. Although Punk loved being with AJ and looking after her, making her laugh and smile. He did enjoy getting out with his friends for a few hours, just to feel human again.

It was halftime and questions circled the air on AJ, which had became a regular thing to Punks disappointment. He knew his friends were just curious and caring, but every time they spoke about it, it made it feel more real.

"I was thinking about going down to the station tomorrow to see if Clint has got anything for us." Seth said.

"These fucking things take so long. I just want to find the guy, rip his arm up and beat the shit out of him with it." Dean grunted, the thought of what had been done to AJ made him feel sick to his stomach.

"How is AJ?" Roman asked Punk directly, watching Punks shake his head but nod at the same time.

"She's ok, I guess. She's still throwing up for some reason. But she's definitely coming out of that bubble she was keeping herself in." Punk told them.

"How's things in the bedroom?" Dean asked, of course being Dean, he had to ask.

"What do you think?" Punk raised his eyebrows to Dean.

"I don't blame her." Seth said, "I wouldn't want anyone near me after what happened." He admitted, "Do you think she'll ever be the same again? We've kinda lost her." Seth stated true facts that they were all feeling. They could all see that AJ had definitely changed and became a lot weaker. Not physically weaker but emotionally.

"We've not lost her." Punk said immediately, "It's just going to take some time for her to get back to normal." Punk told them.

"I just can't wait to meet the fucker who done it." Dean leaned back in the couch, swigging his beer over, "Poor guy doesn't know what's coming for him."

_Later on…_

Punk came into a dark house, all the lights downstairs shut off. He assumed AJ had gone to bed early so he treaded upstairs lightly, just incase she was sleeping. He wouldn't want to wake her.

He walked into their bedroom to find it empty, but the bathroom shining light from underneath the door caught his eye. He hoped she wasn't still throwing up.

He opened the door rather quickly, watching her standing over the sink, quickly taking some sort of rectangular plastic and hiding it behind her back.

"I didn't hear you come in." AJ panicked, looking across at him as he glared at her suspiciously.

"What's behind your back?" Punk asked curiously, never seeing her move so quickly in her life the way she did when he burst through the door.

"N-Nothing." She shook her head, as if not shaken up enough, having him busting her was terrifying her even more.

"AJ…" Punk chuckled slightly, "I seen you put something behind your back. Show me." Punk said suspiciously. His brain went to the worst, he prayed she wasn't injecting herself with things which, as she quickly put the item behind her back, it did look like it.

AJ watched as he walked closer towards her, taking a hold of the hand behind her back and trying to pull it from behind, feeling her put her strength against him and hold her hand behind her back still.

"Punk, get off me." AJ moaned, trying to get out of his grasp.

"I swear, if you're bringing drugs into our house, AJ." Punk gritted his teeth. He knew she was hurting, but he thought they were making progress.

"Drugs?" AJ shook her head, still feeling him tug on her arm, so hard that when she gave in, the thing she was holding flew out of her hand onto the floor.

She watched whilst rubbing her arm where he was holding, which she knew he didn't mean to hurt her. He was just paranoid to which she was holding. It was probably a good job he burst in the door, or else she wouldn't have told him what she had just found out, what he was about to find out.

Punk picked up the white plastic rectangular item from the floor, turning around to AJ as he stared at it, looking up at her past the two blue lines staring at him on the home pregnancy test.

"What the fuck is this?"

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24

"What the fuck is this?" Punk looked up at AJ, knowing fine well what it was, needing to hear the words first to believe it.

"I'm s-sorry…" AJ shook, "I thought I would check, just in case. I didn't think it would be positive." AJ cried. She thought being raped was the worst thing she could possibly go through, that that was the lowest point in her life that she could ever reach, but being pregnant with a fifty percent chance of it being the man who raped hers baby, it was terrifying her.

She looked at Punk who was just standing still and staring at her like she had two heads. Just when he felt like AJ was picking herself back up, finding herself again, this hits her.

AJ was terrified, she felt like the world hated her and just one by one was giving her an underlying problem to deal with. She was only human, she could only take so much. But what she couldn't take was this dead silence from Punk.

"Say something." AJ begged, taking the pregnancy test from him and throwing it in the sink like it was trash that was unwanted, "Look at me and say something." She said. She knew he had a hard time dealing with everything as it was, but this was just a step too far.

"What do you want me to say?" Punk shook his head, "Congratulations?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Just tell me you're here, and that everything is ok." AJ begged, needing him right now to be here. She was terrified of this, screamingly terrified.

"Everything isn't ok though. Is it?" Punk looked at her, seeing the sheer fear and stress in her eyes. She was just left with one thing after another.

Punk knew this wasn't her fault. She didn't ask for any of this. She was left with all the consequences to deal with while the man behind the hood walked freely in the streets. Just when he thought things couldn't possibly be any worse. He seen she was shaken with fear, she looked like she didn't really know what was going on herself. She was in shock, she didn't need him freaking out the way he was.

"Come here." Punk sighed with sympathy, waving her over as she tumbled into his arms, leaning her head in against his chest as she cried silently, wondering if she had any tears left to cry out.

"What am I going to do?" She cried in a whisper, her fingertips gripping onto his t-shirt for dear life.

"We're going to find a way to get round this." Punk told her, stroking her back in circular motions, "Everything is going to be fine." He soothed as he held her tightly as she cried, "Everything… everything is going to be fine." Punk said, not sure who he was trying to convince, AJ or himself.

* * *

They wound up in bed, hugging into one another, not sure who was trying to comfort who, AJ's cries turning it soft whimpers in the silent room. They discussed vaguely on how this could have happened, Punk didn't really want to go into detail, but it wasn't something they could just put aside.

There was a fifty percent chance that the baby was his. He and AJ were always sexually active, all the way up until she was attacked, but it was still just fifty percent, the other fifty percent could succeed. The thought of AJ having to carry a baby that wasn't his was killing him, especially when the possible father out of two was the one who raped her. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling.

"We can… do tests." AJ said, drying her tears as she lay with him in bed. She felt like the only thing she was doing these past few weeks was lying in bed and crying.

"No." Punk shook his head, "I don't want to know." Punk told her, he figured if they found out before the baby was born, and it turned out to not be his kid, he'd act differently towards AJ and the baby for that matter. He'd rather find out when the baby was here so he could just deal with it.

"I'm terrified." AJ told him, which was no secret, Punk could already see how terrified she was, "I don't need this. Wasn't being attacked enough?" She said with a sigh. She felt like someone was controlling her life with puppets and just one by one unstitching her and everyone around her.

"I know this isn't what you wanted. Frankly I didn't want it either, but it's happening whether we like it or not. Mine or not, I'll look after you both." He promised. He never envisioned himself raising a kid with AJ who wasn't his, but if he had to he would, he would do anything to keep AJ happy and safe.

"You don't have to say that. You can tell me you're scared, you know." She told him, looking up at him as he looked down upon her.

"I am scared. AJ, I'm terrified. I hate that you're going through all of this and I can't do anything about it." He admitted.

"But you are doing something about it. You're here for me. I don't know where I'd be without you." She told him.

"I just want you to be ok. I just want you to be happy." He said, "It's not fair how, you're the victim, but has been left to suffer the consequences." He expressed.

"Life is unfair." AJ said, having learnt these past few weeks that bad things can happen to good people for no reason. That you can be landed with the worst situations ever and yet still see yourself get lower and lower.

"What do you want to do about the baby?" Punk asked, not beating around the bush. They both had to get real and realise that she was pregnant, possibly with Punks child which would have been the greatest surprise ever, or with her rapists child, which made her and Punk feel sick.

"There isn't much for me to do. Wait nine months and find out who it's dad is." AJ told him.

"Whatever the outcome. I'll be the kids father." Punk told her, helping her relax a little. He would never leave her, let alone with a baby.

"When will things get better?" AJ asked with such a deep sigh, never being at such breaking point in her life. She felt used, hurt, upset, abused, confused, terrified and not just because she was attacked, but because she was now pregnant.

"I don't know, but it will. Just close your eyes. I'm here." Punk told her, running his fingertips through her soft hair, one million and one thoughts running through his mind.

_The next night…_

"Pregnant…" Seth repeated after Punk. All four of them in Seth's kitchen, sitting around the table and unbagging the chinese take out they had got. AJ wasn't up to going out so just asked Punk to bring her some food home.

"Yeah." Punk sighed, standing up from the table and grabbing a few plates for them all, sitting them down on the table, "I don't know what to do anymore." He shook his head, sitting back down on the chair.

"Do you think it's yours?" Dean asked, opening their dinner for the night and dishing it out on his plate. It seemed like one thing after the other was just going wrong for AJ and all of them were aching to find her in such difficulty and breaking point.

"Doesn't really matter what I think. It either is, or it isn't." Punk shrugged, "And yes, obviously I hope it's mine." He told them, "How the hell am I meant to raise a kid that's father is complete scum?" Punk leaned back as they all groaned and sighed.

"How do you think AJ feels? She has to carry the kid, give birth to it, regardless of who the dad is, it's her kid." Roman added as Punk nodded. He understood perfectly fine, AJ was suffering terribly, each and every passing day.

"I know." Punk said, "I just gotta be there for her. She can't do this alone." Punk said, playing with the food on his plate, "Heard anything back from Clint?" Punk asked them.

"No, he's still working on the clothes, he's sent away some swabs he took to Milwaukee, they have better equipment or some shit, I stopped listening to him as soon as he told me he hadn't found anything yet." Seth said as Punk just nodded unenthusiastically.

"Why did everything fall apart as soon as we got together? Is it a sign or something?" Punk said as they all shook their heads and tutted.

"Don't be stupid." Roman shook his head, "These things just happen unfortunately. Things will pick up and get better. We all just need to be there for AJ." He said as they all agreed.

"I pray to god the kid is yours, Brooks." Dean looked at Punk, reaching for more food.

"I pray to god it's mine too." Punk sighed, putting his cutlery down on his non touched plate with a clutter, leaning back and running his hands over his face. Everything was just so stressful, not even his friends could cheer him up anymore.

* * *

Punk didn't stay too long at Seth's. He just wasn't feeling up to being in company with other people, he felt like he was dampening the mood, not that Dean, Seth or Roman were particularly on high spirits.

He took some food home for AJ, but he had a gut feeling she would sleeping. She had been taking early nights recently and just hugging into Punk while he played with her hair, putting her fast asleep. She could always heat up the food for lunch tomorrow if she was sleeping.

He walked into the house, his gut feeling right as he walked into the downstairs area in darkness, leaving the food he had brought home in the kitchen and taking himself upstairs.

He just felt like there was a big black cloud hanging over him, constantly raining over him and AJ.

He walked into their room, seeing her lying on top of the ready made bed covers, a cushion by her stomach for comfort, her eyes closed and her breathing steady and peaceful. It was the only time she looked like she wasn't in any emotional pain.

He crouched down beside her at her side of the bed, staring up at her gorgeous frame. She was so innocent, how could any man pray on such an innocent young woman.

He buried his head down onto the mattress, his forehead pressed against the soft covers, his eyes shut as he took a deep breath that was contrasted against the covers.

There was just a certain point in everyone's life where they had to just shut their eyes and let everything out. He wasn't even embarrassed, he didn't care that he was a man and he was shedding tears. The pain and hurt that his girlfriend had been going through, topped off with a baby to carry inside her with an unknown father, it physically and emotionally hurt him.

AJ heard a muffled noise beside her and opened her eyes, looking at her bedside to find Punk crouched down, his head buried into the covers, his shoulders shaking, hearing his soft cries for the first time ever. It broke her heart. She felt like minute by minute, hour by hour, she was slowly falling apart.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	25. Chapter 25

"Punk…" AJ sat up eventually, watching Punk lift his head, his face red and puffy, his hands scattering to wipe the tears that he was silently crying, so embarrassed that she had caught him crying like such a girl, "Are you ok?" AJ asked him, sitting up against the headboard, watching Punk stand up.

"Sorry… I don't know what came over me." Punk shook his head, turning his back to her to clear his tears, walking around the bed to his side, pretending like everything was fine.

"It's ok. You're allowed to be upset." AJ looked at him, clearing the sleep from her eyes as she watched him strip his t-shirt off.

"I feel like I've looked after you all of my life. I've always been saving you when you didn't need saved, when you could handle yourself… and the one time, the one time you need me, the one time you can't save yourself, is when I'm not there." Punk sighed, throwing his t-shirt across the room with anger.

"I know things aren't the way we want them, ok. I get it's hard. But we'll get through this. You told me yourself." AJ said, kneeling up and shuffling over to him, kneeling up on the soft mattress, close to his eye level now.

"But what if we can't." Punk said, taking his turn to have the doubt, everything just getting too much inside his head, the attack had been hard enough on him but finding out AJ was pregnant. He couldn't be excited or proud in any level because there was a chance it wasn't even his. Everything was just really tough at the moment.

"We have each other." AJ looked up at him, taking his hands in hers, her turn to be the voice of reason for once, "As long as you're here with me, I'm going to be fine. And for the baby, yeah… you might not be it's father, but any kid that is mine, you will be it's father." She told him with a nod and a smile, hoping to ease him softly back to his normal self, "I won't let this ruin us." She said strictly, looking into his helpless eyes, staring back into her brown ones with desire.

AJ felt him suddenly crash his lips down against hers, his arms circling around her waist as she willingly let his needful self kiss her, only then feeling him topple over onto the bed with her, starting to feel herself get uncomfortable really quickly.

She tried to go along with it, to see if they could fall back into their intimate ways naturally, without her noticing, but as soon as his hands went down to her shorts, she whimpered against the kiss, flashbacks of that wicked night coming back to her, even though she full trusted the man she was with.

"Please, stop." AJ whispered, pulling away from the kiss suddenly as he hit his head off the bed from the sudden absence of her mouth.

Punk pushed himself up by his hands, turning around and sitting at the edge of his side, not knowing what he was thinking by coming on so strong with her.

"I'm sorry." Punk shook his head, hearing her move around behind him, finding her appearance beside him, leaning her head against his bare shoulder.

"I just need some time. I know it's frustrating for you." She said, "But I just don't want to be touched in that way right now." She told him as he nodded.

"I know. I don't know what came over me. I just miss you." He looked down at her, watching her look up. He felt like since the attack he had lost her so much, it was hard, no one could ever understand how much it hurt to see someone he loved so much be hurt emotionally and physically.

"You don't have to miss me. I'm right here." She told him, leaning her head back down on his shoulder, a nice thought running through her mind in their awkward silence, "Do you remember that lake house we went to? After Japan?" She asked him out of the blue.

"Yeah. How could I forget?" He smiled, "I don't think I'd ever felt more relaxed in my entire life." He admitted.

"Why don't we rent it again. Just for us two. It will give us a chance to get away from this place. To at least try and relax and forget about everything that is going on." AJ suggested, trying to do anything that may benefit their relationship at this hard time.

"Are you really up to it?" Punk turned to her.

"Yeah. I just want to get away from here. I feel like I'm just locked in this bedroom suffocating. We need to go away and focus on us. I don't want this damaging what we have." She told him, "Just for a few days. Let's get out of here." AJ said, the idea of peace and quiet with just her boyfriend was the exact treatment she needed.

_A few days later…_

Punk had called to the rent the lake house for a few days and both him and AJ were packed and ready to go. They had informed Dean, Seth and Roman that they were getting away for a few days to have some much deserved time to themselves, and to have some peace and quiet which Dean, Seth and Roman understood on so many levels.

It was about a three hour drive to the natured lake house, but the three hours went in super fast, they were there before they knew it.

"I forgot how beautiful this place was." AJ said as she stood out of the car, looking across at the lake and back to the house, smiling over at Punk who breathed in the fresh air with a good natured sigh.

"It's just so beautiful here." AJ said, sitting out on the porch on the outside couch, leaning in against Punks body with the handmade fire crackling in front of them, the sky dark but alit with shining stars. It was peaceful and silent and just what they were needing.

"Does it… feel, like you're pregnant?" Punk asked her curiously, rubbing his hands softly up and down her arm as he felt her body feel so relaxed and free, not tense and hard like it had been these past few weeks.

"I don't feel any different." AJ admitted, "I'm afraid that, if the baby isn't yours, that I'm going to love it less." She admitted, feeling ashamed to say that she could ever not love her baby to the fullest, but it was true.

"I'm going to raise the baby with you, even if I'm not the father, ok?" He said, making sure he was clear about that. He was always going to be there for AJ, during the pregnancy, during the birth and raising the kid.

"I think that is the hardest thing a man could ever do. You've been dealing with this so well. I'm really glad I have you." She admitted.

"You'll always have me. You're stuck with me." Punk chuckled as he heard a faint chuckle from her too. Just the smallest of laughs from her made him feel like he was doing a good job of helping her through this long never ending recovery.

AJ slid down the couch a little when he stood up, turning around and facing her as she smiled up at him, "What are you doing?" She asked, feeling him take her hand and lift her up to her feet, pulling her close into him.

"Dance with me. Pretend like no one is watching." Punk said.

AJ looked around sarcastically, the crickets cricketing in the bushes at the dead silence, "Eh… no one _is_ watching, Punk." AJ smiled up at him as he smiled down at her, his hand sitting on her waist as the other one clasped her hand, her head just automatically falling in against his chest, "There's no music." She chuckled against his chest as she slowly moved with him, taking his lead like she always done.

"We can make our own." He told her, holding her close, resting his chin gently on her head as he shut his eyes, taking in this moment with just them, no one else. From being young and stupid nine years ago to this day and age right now, facing their toughest fight yet. And not a fight between a group of guys, or to take down the next bad guy.

_Flashback…_

"_I'm AJ." A young faced, AJ smiled, extending her hand out to the tattoo'd man in front of her, his long black hair tied in a bobble, never told that he'd cut it in years to come._

"_I'm Punk." Punk looked at the young lady with a smile, shaking her hand as his friends stood behind him._

"_What are you boys doing down here after hours? You don't look like you need any practise." She folded her arms, her sweater tied around her waist as all three of them, so innocent and young looked at her, just as innocent and young._

"_We like your style." Dean croaked in his same voice he had been stuck with throughout his life, "You look like you're in it for the long haul." He said, his long, dirty blonde hair over his eyes in the way of his sight._

"_My style?" AJ chuckled at all four of them, all of them catching her eye since she arrived in Chicago, "I don't have a style, honey. I just kick ass." She tilted her head and watched them nod to each other._

"_We have a little proposition to make." Seth smiled, him and his boys having been watching this young lady for the past few weeks, something about her aggression and speed catching their eyes, a perfect little piece to fit into their undone jigsaw._

"_What type of proposition?" AJ smiled, already taking a liking to all four of them, especially the one with the green eyes, he was something else._

"_How about…" Punk inched forward, "You ride with us?" Punk looked down at the little spitfire in front of him, her beauty discarded underneath her bullshit tough act._

"_And what's in it for me?" She raised her eyebrows._

"_You get to ride with four awesome guys." Roman smiled, "What more could you possibly want?" Roman smiled, folding his muscular arms._

"_One life, one chance." Punk smirked to her, "You ride, we ride." He put his hand out to her, watching her look at it up and down and back up to his face._

"_I'm not your cheerleader, you guys know that right. If I come with you guys, I don't want you to think you all need to protect me." AJ warned them all._

"_You're a big girl." Dean smiled, "You can handle yourself." He flicked his messy hair to the side._

_AJ looked at all of them, already seeing through their bad boy act, seeing four gentle giants standing in front of her, how could she refuse, "Alright…" She grabbed Punks hand, "I'm in." She said, shaking it with a smirk as they call smiled to one another. The missing piece to their gang filled with the most perfect piece of all time._

It wasn't firm handshakes anymore however, it was a hand to hold through worry and stress, through this time of need. His chest wasn't one in which she would help strap a bullet proof vest on to anymore, but one to catch her tears and to rest her head on.

She didn't think she'd ever have to go through anything like this, but she was so glad she had a person in her life like Punk to help her through, to give her his shoulder to cry on, to listen to his reassuring honest words. Without him she wouldn't have coped.

Their music was their memories throughout the years, they kept their eyes closed, moving slowly against each other, barely even dancing, just holding each other close, letting each other know they were both here.

She smiled against him at the comfort of his body, knowing he was just here was the greatest gift, whatever life may put in front of her, she was always ready to face, as long as she had Punk. They could overcome this. It would be hard, but nothing ever was easy.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

AJ was woke up the next morning from a peaceful sleep, the birds chirping outside the window, the sun brightly shining under the gaps of the closed curtains. It was such a sweet escape being here with Punk. She felt human again, she felt stress free with no worries.

She sat up in bed, turning her head to see Punk still fast asleep beside her, his light snoring filling the silent room. She knew he would sleep all day if he had the option.

She got up and headed straight for a shower, always liking to start her day off with a fresh mind. Last night was so peaceful and magical. It was the first time since her attack that she felt normal again, like nothing had ever happened. It felt so great to be away from everything and just be with the man she loved in this sweet little, much deserved escape.

Once showering and putting on fresh clothes, she crept out of the room, leaving Punk still sleeping and walking through into the kitchen and living room, switching on the electric fire in the sitting area, the view out of the window on the lake comforting her already. She would have lived here if she could, but she knew how much Punk loved the city and his own comforts of his house.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice and took a seat at the kitchen table. She had to remind herself every now and then that she was indeed pregnant, it slipped her mind from time to time. She didn't expect to have gotten pregnant in this way. She hoped that the baby inside her, growing and developing, was her boyfriend's baby. She was terrified of everything, she'd never been pregnant or been around children, but she figured it was something she would be naturally good at as time crept by.

She felt like she couldn't rub her tummy, or buy baby clothes, or even talk about the baby, considering every time she did she just remembered that the baby may not be the man's she hoped it would be. She knew Punk said that he would be it's father regardless if he wasn't biologically, but she knew he would be frustrated and upset if it wasn't. She could see him holding it against her as the years went on and she didn't want that.

Things were tough. It was a struggle to hold her head up this high, but she wasn't going to get anywhere by trapping herself in her room and crying. She needed to just stand tall and look on the bright side, as small as it was. In nine months everything would hopefully be over, she'd have a baby, and her and Punk could move on from this horrific chapter in their life.

"Morning." AJ smiled as she watching Punk stumble into sight, yawning as he looked around, smiling over to her.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Punk asked her, stumbling over to the fridge and taking out the orange juice.

"I didn't want to wake you." AJ told him.

"How did you sleep?" Punk asked her, walking over to the kitchen table and sitting across from her, already telling that she had got a decent sleep from how fresh she looked.

"Surprisingly good." AJ smiled, "This place just soothes me, you know." She said as he nodded.

She just got so many calm vibes from the lake house, she remembered being here the last time after their stressful Japan experience, it was the greatest cleanser she'd ever had, she felt relaxed and comfortable all of the time. This time felt even better because her and Punk were alone and had time for themselves.

"Well, why don't you pack up some food, I'll go for a shower, and we can go outside and find a spot to sit, yeah?" He suggested.

"Ok." AJ nodded at the lovely idea, watching him lean over, feeling his lips peck on her cheek before heading back into their room to shower.

It felt great to feel normal again, to not feel victimised or depressed. She felt back to her normal self and realised that, as long as she did have Punk in her corner, fighting with her until the end, she really had nothing to worry about. She knew that her baby would be loved no matter who it's father was. It would have the father it needed and three amazing uncles. She was done being frightened of everything, although yes she was still terrified of another man touching her again, she was done with emotional freightment. Why should she have to suffer when she was the victim. She wanted justice and she wanted the man locked up who done this to her.

They sat outside on the grass until late afternoon, staring across at the lake, AJ sitting in between Punks legs with his arms wrapped around her. She'd never felt more at peace. The sky was turning dark and the night was closing in, but she could have stayed outside in this position for years.

"I'm going to name a star after you one day." Punk told her, the stars in the sky catching his eye, reminding him so much of his girlfriend with how bright they shone in his eyes.

"Can you even do that?" AJ whispered, having heard of it, not knowing if it was actually true.

"Of course you can." Punk smiled, "It'll be the brightest star in the whole sky I bet." Punk whispered in her ear, her back leaning against his stomach as he could tell she was smiling.

"If we found out who done this… to me…"

"When we find out." Punk corrected her as she nodded, twiddling her thumbs as she looked down, still sat in between his legs with his arms wrapped around her from behind.

"When we find out… I don't want you to get involved. Leave it to Dean, Seth and Roman. I know how badly you can lose your temper and I don't want whoever it was dead, I want him to rot with his guilt in prison. I'm afraid you might kill him. And you can promise me you won't, but when you see his face, you'll feel completely different, I know I would." She said, "Please leave it to the guys." She asked him, afraid Punk would take things a step too far.

"Don't you think I have a right to know who dragged my girlfriend down a side alley and raped her?" Punk said.

"You do. Of course you do. But you can see his face in court. We'll… we'll all see his face." AJ swallowed loudly at the thought of looking at her attacker in the eye and not just behind a hood.

"I trust Dean, Seth and Roman to take care of things, but I can't say I don't want to punch the guy in the face. I can't do that in court." He told her.

"Just have some self control. For me. We aren't used to being the victims." She said as he nodded.

"I get that, but I don't think I can keep control when I find out who this guy is. But if… what you want is for me to stay away, for my own safety, then I will." He said, feeling her place her hand on his knee softly, her body relaxing against his as he vowed and promised not to cause trouble that was rightly to be started.

"Thank you." AJ smiled with a relieved sigh. She had images of Punk going completely crazy when he came face to face with her attacker. She knew he couldn't keep his control, he would flat out kill the man with his bare hands, and if the man was weak, Punk would kill him in seconds. Death was too easy for the scum who done this to her. She wanted him in prison, rotting away for every miserable day that past, soaking in his own guilt for the rest of his life.

"And about the baby…" AJ began.

"Look, we've had this conversation a dozen times, I don't care if it's mine or not. I'll be the kids father, AJ." Punk said.

"I know you do care though. I know you care more than anything. Have you ever thought about the day we get the DNA tests and it comes back that you aren't the father. I don't want you to resent me for the rest of my life for taking the chance with the baby." She said.

"I'm not going to love it any less. Yeah ok, I want it to be mine. Of course I do. But if it isn't, I'm still going to love it and treat it like it is mine. I have waited nine years to be with you, if you think just because the kid may not be mine is going to scare me off then you're either stupid…" Punk paused, "Yeah, you're just that, you're stupid." He said as she chuckled, feeling him kiss upon her head.

"I just don't want you to hate me down the line for keeping the baby when we knew it was only a fifty percent chance of you being the father." She admitted.

"One, I could never hate you. Two, there is no percentages of me being the father, ok. I am. The baby is in your stomach, I'm taking care of you. I'm always going to take care of you and be around, therefor the kid is mine." He expressed to her, wanting her to fully understand that he was here forever and would never leave her or the baby's side.

"You'll be a great father." AJ smiled, "Promise me one thing…" AJ said as Punk spoke up.

"Yeah?" Punk awaited what promise he had to make.

"If you… aren't the father…"

"AJ…" Punk began.

"Just hear me out… If you aren't the father. Promise me we won't tell the kid you aren't. Even when it's older and questions why it's eyes aren't green like yours." She said.

"I promise." Punk nodded, hoping that he wouldn't need to lie to his kid, hoping that the kid would genuinely be his. But if it wasn't, he would act like a father and be the best father he could possibly be. Better than his old man, which wouldn't be hard to achieve in his opinion. He just wanted to make AJ proud and keep her safe.

They headed back to the house after it got pitch black and after AJ falling asleep on the couch in the sitting room with Punk beside her, the fire crackling in the distance with the TV on, he carried her to bed and although struggled to do so, managed to put her pyjamas on her and get her comfy underneath the covers.

He was enjoying their few days away so far. It was much more calm here than in their home back in the city. There were no subways rattling during the night or sirens heard in the distance. It was peaceful and quiet and it felt like only they two existed at that moment in time. It was just what the doctor ordered for AJ, and him.

He began to strip off down to his boxers, doing his normal pre bed rituals that he done every night. The toilet, brushing his teeth, getting a glass of water to sit at his bedside and also popping a few sleeping tablets out of the foiled case he had prescribed for. He hadn't told AJ yet that he was taking them, he knew she would blame herself, but it was true. He couldn't get to sleep from all the thinking he was doing about everything going on, the tablets eased him to relaxation and helped him drift into a slumber. Although he refused any medication, he didn't see it as pain relief, he just seen it as a helping hand. It wasn't like he just couldn't sleep.

Once taking them, he got under the covers beside AJ, watching her as she slept peacefully. It was probably her that should have been taking the sleeping pills, but ever since she found out she was pregnant, she had been sleeping a lot and napping a lot. He didn't understand why, but she was helping a human grow inside her, he wasn't going to question her.

He was so glad to see her relax for the first time in what felt like forever. He could see she felt safe and comfortable here, to talk openly and to feel free and human again. They definitely needed to be on this little get away, to help their relationship grow and for them to understand how the other was feeling.

He had just got comfortable in the soft and cosy bed, hugging up next to AJ as her body lay slump up against him when his phone vibrated on the nightstand beside him.

He silently grunted and rolled over, taking the phone with sleepy eyes and unlocking it, the brightness of the phone in such a dark room was almost giving him a headache. He read the message letter by letter, word by word and felt himself sit up as soon as he finished.

_Clint came by and gave us the test results back. We've got the guy. Try not let it bother your days away, talk when you get back. Dean._

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	27. Chapter 27

Even with sleeping pills Punk couldn't get to sleep for the remainder of the night. He tossed and turned under the covers, the feeling of the guys knowing who the man was that attacked AJ wrenching his gut tightly. He didn't want this to spoil their last few days of relaxation and he didn't think telling AJ would have been the best decision, since she seemed so calm and relaxed, but he didn't know if he could hold it together.

He stayed awake all the way up until sunrise, finding it appropriate to get up out of bed and shower, hoping it would clear his mind.

He promised AJ he wouldn't get involved, he knew she was right, he would just lose his temper and wind up killing the guy, but he still wanted to see the man, to see the face of cruelty.

He stood in the shower with the sprinkling, roasting water dripping down his back and neck, his head hanging down as he got goosebumps all around from the immediate warm shower he had jumped into.

He didn't plan to tell AJ until they got back home in a few days. He didn't want to ruin her smile that she had just found again, it wasn't fair on her.

He tried to enjoy the rest of his shower as much as he could, trying to brush aside this new found information, proceeding to enjoy the next few days with his girlfriend, not spoiling the comfort they were finding out here at the lake house.

He got changed into his clothes for the day and headed out of the bathroom, noticing AJ still fast asleep in the bedroom under the covers. He didn't want to disturb her, she'd missed out on a lot of sleep these past few weeks. He silently tip toed out of the bedroom and made his way into the kitchen, switching the kettle on for a warm cup of coffee, standing against the counter as he waited for the kettle to reach boiling point.

Things felt different now that they had a culprit to AJ's attack, it felt like they were actually progressing on this long road to recovery. They were half way there to getting him locked up. All they needed to do… well, all Dean, Seth and Roman needed to do, was find the guy and arrest him, which he, AJ and the rest of the guys were permitted to do.

Once boiling the kettle and making coffee, drinking it black to give him some caffeine to stay awake, he sat at the kitchen table anxiously and alone, trying to imagine what the man looked like. He imagined him to be older, a possible drug addict, dirty hands, greasy hair… but then again, he was just judging that by what he had done to AJ. The man could have looked like a millionaire and still raped his girlfriend. It was just such a cruel world, cruel and fucked up in so many ways.

He watched after a few minutes of gazing out the window as AJ crept out of the bedroom door, his sweater wrapped around her body as the house was surprisingly cold.

"Morning." Punk smiled her way. He was glad he was good at pretending everything was exactly the same before they went to bed.

"Morning." AJ said with a sweet and sleepy smile, shuffling across the kitchen for a glass of water, joining him at the table.

"How did you sleep?" Punk asked her.

"Great. Although I did hear you tossing and turning a lot during the night. Could you not sleep?" She asked him with a frown.

"I was just a bit restless, that's all." Punk said, looking out the window as the rain began to pour from the heavens, ruining his plans of going a walk soon to clear both their heads. The greenery was bound to relax them.

"That sucks." AJ pouted like a child as she witnessed the rain lash down on the grass outside and on the pavement slabs.

"Hey, why don't we close all the curtains, put the fire on and just lie watching TV all day? It's pretty miserable outside." He said as she nodded.

"Does that mean I don't have to change out of my pyjamas?" She said with a gleeful smile.

"No, you don't have to change." Punk chuckled upon the smile on her face, watching her elegantly stand from the table and tiptoe back into their room. It just killed him that someone could be so cruel to a person like AJ. She was innocent and undeserving of what she had been through. She deserved to be treated like a princess, every day and every night, for the rest of her life. And he would make sure he would treat her right.

* * *

AJ had wound up bringing in the duvet from their bed, hugging into Punks torso as the duvet covered them, the room in complete darkness besides the warm crackling fire and the TV. They enjoyed being together and so close, it was time for them to just hold each other and know they were here for one another.

The rain that lashed on the roof and outside almost soothed AJ to complete bliss, feeling warm and tucked away with Punk while the TV played the movie they were watching.

"Oh, I can't watch." AJ pulled the duvet up to cover her eyes, peeking over them with one eye shut as she looked at the TV. They had wound up watching one of AJ's favourite horror movies, Evil Dead. Punk had seen it so many times that the scary parts weren't even scary to him anymore, but he knew AJ still found them terrifying. It gave him an excuse to wrap his arms around her and tell her it was ok.

"You've seen this more than a thousand times. How are you still scared?" Punk chuckled slightly, feeling her hugged into his torso.

"It's still scary to me." AJ shrieked in a squeaky voice, holding on to his t-shirt as the spooky music rattled through the TV speakers.

"C'mon AJ, you're shaking. Just turn it off." Punk said as she begged him not to. She hated horror movies but at the same time she loved them, especially now she had someone to cuddle into.

After the movie finished, they turned it over to something less blood pressure rising, lightening the mood up as AJ still however continued to snuggle up to Punk. His body was so soft and warm, like a teddy bear.

"I should probably make a hospital appointment when we get back." AJ said quietly.

"Why?" Punk shook his head, a moment of stupidity taking over him as he seen AJ look up at him like he was stupid, "Oh, right." He nodded, understanding.

"I mean, I know I'm not that far along, but just to be on the safe side." She said, "You don't need to come if you don't want to." She said.

"Of course I'm going to come." Punk said, "I'm in this for the long haul, AJ. I'm not just going to run and leave you when I find things difficult. I could never leave you." He told her as she smiled.

"That puts me at so much ease." She reached up and cupped his cheek, it really did make a difference to her anxiety when she knew Punk was being serious about committing himself to her and this baby.

"Things can only get better from here. As soon as we… find the guy, Dean, Roman and Seth will go after him, put him in prison, there will be court trials and finally you can get some justice for what he done. I just hope it's all out of the way before the baby is born." Punk hoped.

"Me too." AJ agreed, "I just want everything to be over." She huffed, leaning her head against him as he put his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him tightly.

"It will be over soon. It feels like a lifetime away right now, but this time next year, things will be back to normal." He said, kissing her head.

"Well… not completely normal." She smiled, placing her hand over her still small stomach, looking up at him as he smiled, leaning down and pressing his lips against her own, enjoying her soft lips and sweet mouth.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the city, Dean, Seth and Roman were gathered in Seth's, thinking of a plan to track the man they had identified down. They had dug deep into his files down at the station and found out his address and criminal records.

"So what are we going to do, exactly?" Roman leaned forward on the couch, clasping his hands together as he looked at his two friends.

"I don't know. Do we go in all guns blazing, or tread lightly around the fucker?" Seth suggested.

"We go in all guns blazing. I don't give a fuck if the guy has a family or if he has kids, the fucker is scum and he's going down. No one touches Mendez." Dean reminded them, having all played a big brother role in AJ's life since she was just twenty years old.

"So when? I don't assume Punk will want to accompany us. He'll just lose it." Seth said as they all nodded.

"I say we go tomorrow night after dark. Take the team from the station with us. Arrest him right there and then. No fucking about." Roman suggested.

"Nah. Let's beat him up. Then arrest him." Dean said with a sadistic smile.

"Dean, let's be realistic here." Seth raised his eyebrows at his lunatic friend.

"I'm not settling unless I've got at least one punch in." Dean folded his arms like an unhappy child.

"Well you can be the one to take him down and cuff him." Seth rolled his eyes, "The main thing is, we don't let him escape. If he does, he'll run and we'll never find him because he'll know we're out looking for him." Seth made an excellent point to them all.

"Seth is right." Roman said, "We have to be careful." The samoan man looked at his two friends.

"So we go tomorrow after dark, we take our team and…" Seth was cut off as the buzzer to his apartment rang. He walked off into the hallway and opened the door to see their old buddy and star of the show, Clint, rushing into the sitting area ahead of Seth.

"Woah, dude… what's up?" Seth chased after him, watching him take out his laptop from his briefcase. Clint was always the nerd, but he was extremely useful for finding out criminals.

"Erase what I told you all. Whichever name it was I gave you was a false identity. The guy has had it for years, I've never seen something like this in my life… he's managed to hack into every computer system and make a false identity." Clint said, watching all three of them stare in confusion at one another.

"So you don't know who it is then?" Dean huffed.

"It took me a while, but I managed to put the pieces together. When I was taking samples from AJ's clothes, some of Punks were left on it, obviously he had came in contact with her before the attack. I compared it to the DNA I got from her attacker…" Clint looked up at them all.

"And?" Seth folded his arms, looking at Clint stitch his glasses back up his nose.

"They have the same Y chromosomes. Has Punk ever talked about a brother he has?" Clint looked at them all above his glasses, watching as Seth sat down on the couch, all of them in complete shock and confusion, their hands in their head at this new, bizarre information.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	28. Chapter 28

_Two days Later…_

After AJ and Punk enjoyed the remainder of their last few days at the lake house, they headed back home to the city with Punk itching on the edge of his car seat, his first stop when he got home being Seth's.

"I'm going around to Seth's for a while. Will you be ok here?" Punk asked AJ, walking into their bedroom as she unpacked her bags with a tired smile.

"Yeah. I'm going to call for a hospital appointment and then take a nap. I'll be fine." She smiled over to him, folding up some laundry that she had to do as he just smiled sweetly and nodded to her.

"Ok. I won't be too long." He told her, with that leaving the room and rushing downstairs, not leaving the house any quicker, heading on over to Seth's to face this horrible information.

Seth let him in straight away and Punk wasted no time in walking through to the sitting area where Dean and Roman sat, twiddling their thumbs and looking up at him.

"Alright, no fucking around, show me the guy." Punk unzipped his sweater and sat down on the couch, preparing himself to look evil straight in the eye.

"Listen man, everything has sort of fucked up." Dean told him, "Clint came round a few nights ago to tell him it was a fake identity the system was showing from the DNA he had found." The lunatic out of all of them said with a frown.

"Surely you'll still be able to track him." Punk shook his head as Seth joined them in the living room.

"It isn't that easy." Seth said, "Here's the hard part for you... " Seth began, "Clint found your DNA on AJ's clothes, obviously from earlier on in the night before she even left the house, he compared that to the DNA he found from her attacker and…" Seth clasped his hands together, swallowing his worries on how Punk would react, "Dude, they have the same Y chromosomes. Your brothers DNA is on AJ's clothes." Seth said, looking across at Punk who looked as white as a ghost, almost green.

Punk stood up and ran into the kitchen, throwing up his turning stomach into the sink as all three friends cringed, hearing him as he bolked and gagged.

Punk's head was spinning. How could this be? He'd just patched things up with his brother, this wasn't real, it couldn't have been. He knew he promised AJ he wouldn't get involved but he was going to beat his brother to a pulp, and he was going to do it right now, while this news was still fresh in his mind.

Seth, Roman and Dean heard Punk rush out of the kitchen and out of the apartment door. Knowing he was headed straight for his brothers house, they ran after him and followed him in the car. They had no idea what Punk was feeling like. How disgusted and hurt, betrayed above all. It was awful to think that a blood relation would do such a thing.

As soon as Punk got to Mike's house, Dean, Seth and Roman pulling up shortly behind him, he walked straight down the driveway and banged at the door, ignoring his three friends as they approached him, telling him to get back in the car.

Punk watched as Sarah opened the front door, a smile on her face, slowly fading however as he accidentally, through his anger, pushed her over to the side and paced the downstairs area. Dean, Seth nor Roman could gain control over Punk, he was a shaking mess, relentless and unstoppable. Right now he wasn't looking for his brother, he was looking for his girlfriends attacker.

Punk finally found Mike in the living room, little Zack lying on the floor on his playmat and kicking his feet. However, not even a small, cute baby could take Punks mind off of getting Mike and obliterating him into dust.

Mike turned just like Sarah, with a smile on his face at the sight of his infant brother, but the smile was slowly wiped off his face as Punk grabbed him by the t shirt into the hallway and threw him on the ground.

"I'm going to kill you!" Punk shouted, collapsing down on top of Mike and laying punches into him, every single bit of anger pouring out of him in result of his flying fists.

Mike couldn't even respond, he was too busy protecting his face from his vicious little brother who now he had realised, wasn't so little anymore.

It took Dean, Roman and Seth a few tries, but eventually they pulled Punk off of Mike. They were almost a little scared of Punk. He was like a cage animal that couldn't be tamed, they'd never seen him like this before.

"Dude… what the fuck?" Mike backed away as Sarah rushed to him in a cry, looking up at his demented brother being held back.

"You raped AJ! You raped my girlfriend you piece of shit." Punk spat, trying to get out of his three friends grasp, choking a quiet sob out as it began to sink in that it was his own flesh and blood that had attacked his girlfriend. His AJ.

"What are you talking about?" Mike shook his head with confusion, getting to his feet with Sarah's help, holding his bloody nose as he looked across at his brother.

"AJ… you raped her a few months ago." Punk looked across at him, watching him shake his head and turn to Sarah to see if she knew what the meaning of all of this was.

"I never touched AJ, man. And I certainly didn't… rape her." Mike said, not believing this extreme accusations on him.

"Yeah, that's exactly what a rapist would say." Punk spat, having no remorse for his brother. Having nothing against his brother anymore, he was already dead to him.

Mike just rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air, "Dude… c'mon, I'm your brother, I would never do something like that. I swear." Mike put his hand up with sincerity, "I'm your brother man, c'mon." Mike pleaded with Punk, hoping that whatever information he was told that he wouldn't believe it as quick as he seemed to have.

"Then how is your DNA on her clothes?" Punk said, still trying to fight out of his friends grip.

"Eh…" Dean butted in, "We never said anything about this guys DNA being on the clothes. We said the attackers DNA had the same Y chromosomes as your DNA." Dean told Punk, watching his angry friend look at him.

"Well nice on sherlock, but he's the only brother I have." Punk looked at Dean and back to Mike.

"I'll go do a DNA test right now if you want me to. I didn't hurt AJ, man. I have a girlfriend and a son. What the hell has got into you?" Mike looked across at his brother, feeling Sarah hug into him.

"Swear on your son's life you never touched AJ." Punk looked across at Mike.

"I swear on my son's life. I never touched her. I haven't seen her or you since you both came round to see Zack." Mike sweared, having nothing to hide. He really didn't touch AJ, that was a promise.

Punk shook free out of Seth, Dean and Romans grip, loosening his tightened muscles as he stood still, feeling so stupid, not to mentioned confused at the whole thing.

"I don't know what this is all about." Sarah jumped in, "But my son is in the room next door. If you all want to carry on like children then I suggest you leave this house." Sarah said firmly, feeling so attacked at this present moment.

"We're leaving." Punk grunted, setting on foot out of the house.

"An apology would be nice!" Mike yelled as he still held his nose.

Punk turned back and pointed his finger at Mike while he spoke, "Until I get to the bottom of this, as soon as I find out who attacked AJ, you're still on my list." Punk said with a pointing finger, still not convinced yet, turning back around.

Mike felt Sarah nudge him on the side, looking up at him and raising her eyebrows his way, giving him some form of signal.

"Wait… Punk." Mike said as he watched his little brother turn around and look his way with cold eyes, "We need to talk, in the kitchen." Mike suggested, walking through to the kitchen so he could maybe get some ice on his swollen lip.

Dean, Seth and Roman trusted Punk and knew he had calmed from his moment of madness. They apologised to Sarah on Punk's behalf and left the house to go wait in the car, discussing together about how it possibly could be anyone else other than Punks brother.

"What is it?" Punk looked across at Mike.

"Look, before you start going all Punk on me. I just want to say, I didn't even know AJ had been attacked, especially in that way. I'm sorry… if something like that happened to Sarah I don't know what I would do." Mike admitted as Punk put his hands in his jean pockets.

"So what is it you want to talk to me about?" Punk asked his brother.

"The whole Y chromosome thing you were talking about. Fathers passing it down to their sons and their sons sharing it between brothers, yeah?" Mike said.

"I know what it means. I'm not an idiot." Punk folded his arms, "Her clothes have two types of DNA on them, mine and her attackers. They both have the same Y chromosomes. Why would I not point a finger at you?" Punk looked at Mike.

"Mom is going to kill me." Mike rolled his eyes and rubbed his head in frustration.

"Fuck mom." Punk spat, "Tell me what you know, because I know you're hiding something." Punk said, something about Mike telling him he was hiding something from him.

"Before dad met mom. Before we were born. Dad had a kid." Mike looked at his little brother, "I found out when dad died, mom told me not to tell you, she knew you'd just get angry, but with everything you're talking about. I think I might know your guy you're looking for." Mike said.

"So what? We have a secret brother that no one decided to tell me about?" Punk shook his head.

"Half brother." Mike corrected him, "He's older than us, much older. I've never met him but I have pictures. If it's not my DNA on her clothes, which I promise Punk, it isn't. Then it can only be his." Mike said, reaching on top of the kitchen cupboard, bringing down a box with random items, shaking the dust off a picture and handing it to Punk.

Punk took the picture and looked at it. The man didn't really look like him or Mike. Punk could see evil in his eyes, pure evil. It was twisted for a half brother that he didn't even know to do this to his girlfriend who didn't deserve such a thing. He was completely at lost for words, but this story was more believable than Mike being the attacker, Mike had no reason to hurt AJ. He had his own girlfriend and a son.

"Where do I find him?" Punk looked at the picture, the man's face twisted and sour, a lot like his fathers.

"I don't know his address. But I have his name. I know you and your team are good with finding people just by using his name." Mike said, "His name is Dom. I assume his last name is Brooks. Be careful, if he's anything like dad he'll be a real twisted bastard. Make sure you get AJ some justice." Mike tapped his brother on the back, quite taken back by all of this occurrence, but of course trying to help as best he could.

"I will." Punk nodded, "Sorry for the…" Punk pointed to Mike's still bleeding nose.

"It's fine. Although, I forgot how fucking tough you got. Why can't you go back to being the little pussy I used to always push around?" Mike chuckled as Punk smiled.

It was wrong to go in all guns blazing to Mike, especially when he had upset Sarah and little Zack, but he never knew he had a half brother. And he also didn't know that his half brother was out to get him.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29

"What are you going to do?" Dean asked Punk as all three of them watched their angry friend approach them coming out of Mike's house.

"Well first of all I need to go home and tell AJ. Then I need to go find this half brother I supposedly have and introduce him to my fist." Punk said, putting the picture Mike had gave him into his pocket.

"Half brother?" Seth shook his head and looked at Punk.

"His name is Dom Brooks, see if you can find anything on him. I need to go home and tell AJ she might be pregnant with my niece or nephew." Punk dreaded already, walking with his shoulders slump, opening the car door and sitting in with a huffing sigh. If his half brother wanted to meet him or had an issue with him, he could have just said. There was no need to put AJ through everything she had been through.

He drove away, leaving Dean, Seth and Roman to get to work on finding more about Dom. You'd be surprised about the things they could come up with just by using a name. Meanwhile he had to go home and break this horrifying news to AJ.

As soon as he arrived home, he headed straight upstairs from no sight of AJ downstairs. He hoped she wasn't already asleep like she said she would be. He walked in to find her lying in bed with her glasses on, reading a book she had been reading recently, her head turning when she seen him walk into the room.

"You're back earlier than I thought." AJ said with a surprised smile, placing the bookmark in the page she had stopped it, closing the novel over and placing it on her bedside table, standing up and out of the covers.

"I didn't plan on staying long anyway." Punk told her, taking the hug she was offering from her, feeling her wrap her arms around him tightly.

"Couldn't you sleep?" He asked her.

"No. I tried but I don't think I'm tired enough." She admitted as she pulled back from the hug, looking up at him and seeing a sort of fear in his eyes, "Is everything ok?" She asked.

Punk scratched the back of his neck and took her hand in his, "Come sit down with me." He said, leading her over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, pulling her down with him as she began to have a look of fear and worry on her face.

"What's wrong, Punk?" AJ asked him with a sigh.

"We've found the guy who attacked you." Punk said, feeling her hand drop from his, watching as she stood up and walked a few steps forward, her back facing him as her hands flew to her mouth.

Punk stood up with a heart aching sigh, walked close to her and spun her around, pulling her into him as she hugged into his body, sobbing deeply, not even letting Punk get to the horrifying part.

"It's alright." Punk soothed her, "It's all nearly over." He reminded her, kissing her head softly.

"It's all becoming more believable." She choked, looking up at him as he nodded, understanding her completely, "Do you know what he looks like? Have you… seen him?" She swallowed the lump in her throat, falling out of the tight hug they were in.

"This is where it get's a little more disturbing." Punk said with an anxious stomach, "You have to understand, this is all news to me to." He told her first.

"You're scaring me." She admitted, folding her arms as her wet tears dried in against her cheeks.

"The DNA from your clothes, from the attacker, they have the same Y chromosomes as my DNA." He looked across at her.

"I'm not a forensic, Punk. What does that mean?" AJ threw her hands up in the air with a nervous chuckle.

"It means… my half brother raped you, AJ." Punk said, staring across at AJ as her mouth gaped open, her legs giving way to where she had to stand up straight, trying not to fall over.

"You don't have a…"

"I know. I didn't think I did either. I went to see Mike and, he told me about him. I never knew until a few hours ago. But look at me…" Punk walked over to AJ, taking her hands in hers, shaking them with courage as her body became lifeless whilst looking up at him with a sickened face, "We're going to get him and he's going to get put away for what he done. He isn't any brother of mine." He told her as she just looked up at him in so much shock.

"I could be pregnant with your niece or nephew." AJ looked up at him with lifeless spirit. She couldn't believe this. It almost took her breath away. Why would a half brother of Punks that he never knew about attack her? Was it to get to him? Did he have something against Punk and used her to get to him? She didn't know.

"Yeah, you could be. There's always hope." Punk said, trying his best to smile.

"What if that hope isn't good enough?" AJ looked up at him, "I don't think I can wait five more months to find out what brother I'm pregnant to." AJ swallowed loudly.

"What are you saying?" Punk shook his head, dropping her shaking hands out of his.

"I'm saying I want a paternity test." AJ folded her arms as Punk stared at her with confusion.

"I thought we agreed that we would wait. You know I told you it doesn't matter who the baby's father is. I'm always going to be here. This guy is not my brother, we're going to find him and put him where he belongs so he can rot for every miserable day for the rest of his life." Punk said, "Don't make me sit through hearing that the baby isn't mine this soon." Punk said, the real reason he didn't want tests done being that he didn't think he would react very calmly if it turned out to be his half brothers baby developing in his girlfriend. His half brother that he never even knew about, never mind knew that he had an enemy in him.

"I can't wait until the birth to find out, Punk. I deserve to know whose baby I'm carrying. Plus, it may give us time to prepare ourselves if the baby isn't yours. We'll be ready to take care of it regardless when it comes." AJ suggested, "I just want all of this to be over, and until I find out whose baby it is, I don't think it can be. Knowing that a piece of that… scum, has been left inside me disgusts me. I need to know if the chance of you being the father is too good to be true." AJ told him with sincerity, "Please, let us do the paternity test." AJ begged as Punk just sighed and closed his eyes.

"Do you know how hard this is for me…"

"For you?!" AJ shrieked, "What about me? No one ever gives a shit about me. It's always, 'oh, condolences to the family,' or 'oh, her poor boyfriend.' I was the one who was dragged down an alley and raped. I have gotten to the point where I don't even care who it was, me knowing who raped me won't change anything, it won't undo anything. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be pregnant, I didn't ask to feel this way, to feel so scared to be outside that I feel sick." AJ looked at him as he looked at her with alert eyes.

"AJ…"

"No, just don't." AJ drew a line with her hand, "Stop trying to pretend you know how I feel because there is a ninety nine percent chance you don't." AJ said, her hormones spinning as well as her head.

"I don't want to find out whose baby it is because when I hear his name and not mine, I can't possibly look at you the same, or be encouraging through the rest of the pregnancy. I'm scared, alright." He looked at her.

"Yeah? Well so am I." AJ folded her arms, "I'm finding out my baby's father wether you like it or not." AJ spat, watching him grab a pillow from their bed, "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Sleeping on the couch." Punk groaned, taking the pillow with him and closing the bedroom door over with a bang.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	30. Chapter 30

AJ waited a few hours in her bedroom, curled up in the fetal position on top of the covers, feeling so alone and afraid. She wondered how her life had come to this. She thought being with Punk was going to be the greatest thing in the world, but she had just become a target. She knew he wasn't coping, she got that, but neither was she.

She felt so free and alive at the lake house, feeling like the way she did at the start with Punk, a tingling sensation in her stomach when she seen Punk smile or heard him tell a joke. But as soon as they returned home, everything stopped, things just got worse and worse, even when she thought it was impossible.

She dried her tears and stood up off the bed, digging underneath their bed for a bag, throwing some clothes in the bag and exiting the room quietly and slowly. She needed some space. She knew that it was hard for Punk finding out that he had a half brother, never mind finding out it was him who attacked her, but she was fed up of listening to him telling her it would be ok, when she knew things wouldn't be ok. Things were going to get worse and worse before they got good.

She walked over to the couch, looking down upon him as he lay on the couch fast asleep. She could see it was even hard for him to sleep. His face was scrunched up and she knew he was under a lot of stress, but he wasn't the only one. She figured he forgot a lot that she was hurting too.

She left a scribbled note on the coffee table beside him, sweeping his hair from his face and leaving a sweet kiss on his head. She felt like being around him was just going to create more stress and angst between them. She wanted time to think on our own, to decide on what was best for her. She knew he was scared and only wanted what was best for her, but sometimes it came across quite demanding and forceful. She just wanted some time on her own. Maybe that time Punk could use to hunt down his half brother, quite frankly she didn't care. She was only thinking about one thing, her baby.

She left the house and locked the door behind her, walking down the steps and getting into the car, driving down the road, having an idea to where she was heading.

It's not that she didn't care about her attacker, she just didn't want to accept that they had found him quite frankly, nor did she want to accept that it was Punks half brother. It was insanely hard to believe. Of course she did want to know what provoked this horrible man to do such a thing to her, especially when he was related to Punk in such a way. But she also wanted to focus on what was important in all of this. She didn't want to bring this poor child into the world unless everything was sorted and put to bed.

She drove along the road and pulled up to a house she was familiar with, stepping out of the car and taking her bag with her, walking up the steps to the house and knocking the door with her knuckles, only waiting a few minutes for an answer.

"Got a spare room going for a few nights?" AJ smiled to the blonde haired friend.

Dean gave her a sympathetic smile, "Always." He nodded, opening the door wide and letting AJ into his house.

"Is Renee here? I don't want to disturb you guys." AJ said straight away.

"She couldn't stay tonight, she has work at 6 tomorrow. She wouldn't mind you staying anyway. She misses you." Dean told her. Renee had got close to AJ over the few weeks they had been introduced, she still couldn't believe that AJ was attacked the night that they were out together, it haunted her, she knew it could have been her.

"I've missed her too." AJ smiled, "Thanks for letting me stay." AJ said appreciatively.

"Do you want to talk or do you just want to be alone?" Dean asked, a pair of basketball shorts hanging from his waist as well as a t-shirt, having just been sitting on his couch watching breaking bad by himself, his shoulder waiting for AJ to cry on.

"Can we talk?"

_With Punk…_

Punk woke up a few hours later through the night, not knowing where he was for a minute, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, recalling the fight he had with AJ just before he went to sleep. He felt so guilty for making her mad and for showing lack of concern, but he had just found out about an apparent half brother, never mind him being the one who attacked AJ, he didn't take into account how AJ was feeling and he felt awful.

He soon noticed the note on the coffee table and picked it up to read…

_Punk,_

_I know running from you isn't going to solve anything, but I need some space. I think we're just clashing with one another and I don't want us to get ruined from this. I'm sorry for getting mad, I'm just really lost, I thought I had found myself when we went away, but I guess not. I'll be at Dean's if you need me. I'll keep in touch. _

_Love AJ x_

Punk ripped the note up and threw it to the side, running his hands over his face frustratedly. He felt like he was losing everything he loved, he felt like he was losing himself. He felt helpless and useless. He failed to protect AJ from the attack in the first place, but now he had failed to help her recover from it. He felt like such a failure of a boyfriend. How could he ever be a father? He wouldn't be. Who was he kidding, the baby wasn't his, by the way things were going these days with his luck, the baby would not be his own son or daughter. And as much as he told AJ, he didn't know how he was meant to raise another man's baby, never mind his brothers.

He stood up off the couch, feeling like a dead slump, never being so down in his life. He just wanted to forget that all of this had happened, he wanted to erase back to before AJ's head injury and kept his feelings for AJ at bay. Wasn't all of this a sign that they weren't meant to be. He just wanted to forget, to drown in his sorrows and feel empty.

He grabbed his sweater and headed out of the house, putting his hood up as he walked down the pavement. He walked into a twenty four hour supermarket with very little people, walking straight to the aisle his head was set on, not his heart.

He picked up the first beverage he had seen, reading the label and cringing, nevertheless taking the alcoholic litre glass bottle, walking to the counter and quickly paying for it. In this moment, he didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know what he was doing in general anymore.

_With AJ…_

AJ had sat and talked with Dean for the past few hours, hearing and listening to his take on things, appreciating him not yelling at her like Punk was before.

"He's just trying to look out for you." Dean told her, AJ sitting beside him on the couch hugging a cushion.

"I know. I just feel like I'm putting all this dead weight on his shoulders." She sighed, "He's terrified of this baby. Of it not being his." AJ said, "How can we go on raising a kid that isn't his?" AJ sighed.

"Punk won't leave you, or the kid. He'll take care of you. I've known the guy for over ten years. Nothing means more to him than you." Dean told her.

"I just feel so off lately. I don't feel like I can ever be myself again. I don't think I could ever hold a gun or punch someone again. I get nervous now. I never get nervous." She sighed.

"It's going to be a long process, AJ. You just gotta let it run it's course. We'll find this guy, we'll lock him up, you can have the baby and we can all move on. The baby could be a fresh start for everyone." Dean suggested.

"I told Punk I wanted to do a paternity test." AJ told Dean.

"What did he say?" Dean asked curiously.

"He got angry. He doesn't want to know. He's terrified, Dean." AJ said, "But I can't wait five months to find out, I have a right to know. Don't I?" She looked up at him.

"Of course you do. Whatever you decide to do, Punk is going to be with you. He's just in shock with everything right now. He would have shouted at anything or anyone. Just give him a few days to get himself together." Dean suggested.

"When will things get better?" AJ sighed, leaning her head down on Dean's shoulder.

"I don't know. But they will, I promise." Dean said, not liking to see AJ so down. It was so rare considering she was always so outgoing and upbeat. He felt like she was a completely different person now because of this attack. He was going to make Dom pay, for sure.

_With Punk…_

Punk had got back from out in the cold world and was currently back sitting on the couch, the bought bottle of booze sitting on the coffee table staring at him. He'd heard the guys say about how much alcohol took their minds off of things. It was the only thing he could think of. Maybe just one sip. He was done being strong and holding it together. He wanted to be weak, just for once in his life, he wanted to give in and drown in his sorrow.

The facts were, his girlfriend was raped and attacked by his unknown half brother whom he had no idea existed, not to mention had something against him. His girlfriend was also pregnant with only a half chance of him being the father, the other half being his half brother. He was surprised he had lasted this long without breaking.

He was always the one in the group to stitch everyone back together, to fix everyone and pick them up when they fell down, but this time he was giving up. He was done trying to pretend everything would be fine. His girlfriend was hurting, he was hurting, his friends were hurting, he may as well just forgot about everything in this glass bottle in front of him.

He took the glass bottle and unscrewed the cap off of it, sitting the cap down on the coffee table and looking at the alcohol which he had forbidden all his life, only reminding him of his drunken, bastard of a father.

"Here's to you, dad." Punk raised the bottle up slightly, raising it to his lips and sitting back on the couch, feeling the alcohol tranquil and burn down his throat, hoping it would go straight to his head and help him forget about this dark and horrible world.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	31. Chapter 31

The next morning when AJ woke up in the spare room of Dean's house, she went to get ready and showered when she realised she had forgotten her toothbrush and other toiletry items. As Dean was already up and showered, he told AJ he would go collect her things to help her avoid Punk for the time being.

AJ knew she would have to face Punk soon, she had booked a scan for in a few days and assumed he would want to come, but for now she just wanted a few days to hear her own thoughts and feelings.

Dean had used his spare key to get into Punks house, opening the front door and heading into the cold house. Dean did have to admit, it was strange to have their group so broken. Everyone had been affected by AJ's attack, they were all so down. But he was extremely glad he had Renee to seek comfort in these days.

Dean went to walk straight for the stairs, assuming Punk would still be sleeping, when he spotted his friend passed out on the couch.

"Punk." Dean whispered as he walked over to Punk, walking around the couch and staring at the empty bottle of alcohol contents, picking it up, not even a dribble left to it. It left him speechless. He never thought he would see the day.

"AJ." Punk opened his eyes quickly, sitting up quickly, feeling like he was holding three heads on his shoulders, looking up to see Dean standing over him with such disappointment in his face, holding the empty bottle of his sorrows from last night.

"Please tell me you poured this down the sink." Dean looked at Punk. Dean for one knew how much Punk was dedicated to not smoking, drinking or doing drugs. It would crush him to see Punk give in so late in his life, when he had done so well.

"How the hell did you get in, and why are you here?" Punk moaned, snatching the bottle from Dean, "My head is pounding." Punk screwed his eyes up.

"I have a spare key, remember. AJ needed a few things. She's staying at mine until she feels ready to come back home." Dean said.

"I've fucked up, Dean." Punk moaned, leaning back on the couch, "I didn't even enjoy this." Punk looked at the empty glass bottle.

"So you drank it?" Dean sighed.

"I wanted to forget. Just for one night." He sighed, "I don't know what to do anymore. I want to be there for AJ, I want to be confident when I tell her things will be fine. But I don't know if they will." Punk said with honesty.

"Of course they will be. Listen…" Dean sat down beside Punk, "You're allowed to feel like this. I'm sad that you turned to drink, it's not like you, but I get things are hard. We're going to get this son of a bitch and put him in his place. You need to let AJ go through with what she wants to do for the baby. If she wants tests done you need to just go along with it. You might not be the father, but she's always going to be the mother. You have to respect that and understand she's only trying to do what's best." Dean said, "We're all here for you man, you don't have to turn to drink. I know that's rich coming from me, but don't give up. Don't give up on AJ." Dean shook his head.

"The thought of that baby not being mine makes me sick. I'm going to watch the kid grow and know that it's not mine. I mean… I always pictured me and AJ having kids of our own, I thought we'd be married first, but I imagined I'd be so happy, we all would be." Punk could only dream, "It's like someone is repeatedly poking me with a pitchfork unexpectedly. I've never been so lost." He looked at Dean.

"It's normal you feel like that, I don't expect that you'd be up dancing and singing. But we're over the worst of things. We've found the guy, I know it was hard and unexpected finding out about your half brother, but it's over now. We can put him away and we can all move on, for AJ's sake. And for the baby." Dean said, "Even if the baby isn't yours, it's still AJ's, and we're all going to be here for her. We're family. We don't turn our backs on each other." Dean said, watching as Punk nodded.

"I think it's best if I give her a few days. Just tell her I love her, and that I'll pick her up for the scan on Friday." Punk said, "I need to go sleep this shit off." Punk leaned forward, running his hands over his face.

He'd never felt so sick and down in his entire life. The alcohol he drowned in had only made him feel worse. He couldn't go down this path, because he knew he would just turn out to be his father, he'd take another drink, then another, until he couldn't stop.

"Promise me you won't drink anymore of this. It's poison. Take it for the wrong reasons and you'll not be able to stop. Think about AJ, think about the baby, yeah?" Dean looked at Punk, watching him nod.

"I've been so busy thinking about myself that I've forgotten that it was AJ that was attacked and hurt. She's been so strong and I'm just fading away." Punk sighed.

"Being strong is her only choice right now. She'd be stronger if you were with her." Dean suggested, "I'll leave you with your hangover, I'll tell AJ you'll pick her up on Friday." Dean stood up as Punk nodded, watching his blonde haired friend head upstairs to collect some of AJ's things.

He rested his head back against the couch and sighed. He'd just thrown away a lifetime of straight edge lifestyle and he was disappointed in himself. He didn't know how weak and pitiful all of this was making him. He had to get his act together before everything just swallowed him whole.

_Later that night…_

AJ had laid in bed all day reading or watching TV. Renee and Dean had went out for the night and it gave her the living room to relax in with the TV on. She had her pyjamas on already and was wearing one of Dean's huge pull over jumpers, almost drowning her but keeping her warm.

She was barely paying attention to the TV, she was lost in her thoughts. She had her heart and mind set on doing a paternity test for the baby. She wanted to be prepared for the worst when she had to give birth.

She knew Punk was finding this hard too, she totally understood, but she just wanted him to support her in her decisions that were frankly up to her. She had a right to know whose baby she was carrying.

She didn't plan for her and Punks life to be like this. She expected it to always be sunshine and roses. She imagined them getting married, their friends the only ones there. Then maybe a few years later they'd have a baby, and then few years after that they'd have another one. A boy and a girl. She didn't expect to be under the age of thirty as a rape victim.

She was beginning to fall asleep on the couch when the door banged loudly. She expected it to be Seth or Roman maybe, or perhaps Dean had forgotten his keys. So she stood up and headed out of the living room and down the hall, unlocking the door and chain.

Ever since she had been attacked she had become more paranoid with everything. She had to lock doors during the day, close windows in rooms she wasn't in. She hated the anxious and nervous person she had become, especially when she was never like this before.

She swung the door opened and watched Punk turn around to face her, a teddy bear in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other. She wouldn't have been human if she didn't smile.

"I'm sorry for being a dick." Punk said, "I miss you." He frowned truthfully. He missed cuddling into her at night, he missed her voice in the house. So bad that he had turned to alcohol to help himself.

"I miss you too." AJ smiled, watching him extend the bunch of flowers to her, gladly taking them from her and spotting them being her favourite. Lilies.

"Dean and Renee are out. You can come in." AJ smiled, inhaling the bright and beautiful flowers, watching him smile as he held the teddy bear in his two hands, assuming that was also for her to.

"If that's ok with you." He said, not wanting to put any pressure on her. He would leave if she wanted him to.

"It's fine with me. I'll put the kettle on." She told him as he walked into the house, "I'll put these in a vase too." She shut the door over behind him and walked away into the kitchen.

Punk knew he couldn't lose her. She needed him most right now and the fact he had driven her out of her home killed him. He had to step up, he'd had his moment of weakness, it was time to lift his head and think positively. He loved AJ. More than anyone could ever understand. She wasn't just a girl he had met and dated for a few weeks. She was AJ. His best friend, his soul mate, his everything. No one hurt her, no one made her feel worthless like she had been feeling. Dom had definitely decided to mess with the wrong brother.

He knew him and AJ needed to talk. He was willing to support her in her decision to do a paternity test. She had every right and he guessed it would prepare them for the worst when the baby came. He just wanted to let her know he was here and that he never meant to come across as such a prick. He wasn't going to let Dom's attack on her ruin what he had with his girlfriend. He wouldn't let anything ruin what he had with AJ. He was going to get her the justice she deserved and in a few months time, when everything was said and done, he was going to help her through child birth and raise this lucky, lucky little baby boy or girl, who had the greatest mom imaginable. The greatest uncles and auntie in Renee. And of course, the greatest father, regardless of the biological side of things.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**Nice to see Punk has a positive mind after his meltdown. Let's see where things go from here. Thanks for the REVIEWS. Really appreciate them so much, glad to see you all enjoying the story. Thanks.**


	32. Chapter 32

"I'm sorry I yelled at you the way I did." Punk said, taking a seat in the living room with AJ, watching her cross her legs in a basket and look across at him.

"It's fine. I understand why you yelled. It's a shit situation we're in, but we can't just ignore it. Things could turn in our favour. You could be the father." She smiled, trying to give him some hope.

"The way things have been working out for us lately, I doubt it." Punk said, "But… you have every right to get the tests done, regardless of it being my kid, it's still yours and I know you just want to do what's best." Punk said, "I drank last night." He told her, clasping his hands and looking away with shame.

"What do you mean you drank?" AJ shook her head.

"I drank a full litre of alcohol. I don't even know what it was. I just picked it up and bought it, went home and downed the full lot." Punk admitted, "I just wanted to forget about everything." He said.

AJ frowned at this information. She hated the thought of Punk drinking. He had stood by his morals and beliefs for so long, she felt like it was her fault he had turned to alcohol.

"You won't do it again though, will you?" AJ asked with hope.

"No. I didn't even enjoy it. I don't know how the guys can drink it. But it did help with the pain." He admitted.

"I can help with the pain, yeah? Please, please don't turn to that stuff. Don't make it a habit." She shook her head, shuffling towards him on her knees.

"How can you help with the pain? Your bound to be feeling ten times worse than I am." Punk said, turning his head and watching her inch into his face, her lips pressing softly against his own, her hands cupping around his stubbly cheeks.

AJ couldn't stand the thought of him feeling helpless and in pain, she just wanted him to know that he wasn't alone, that she was here for him, just like she knew he was here for her.

"What was that for?" Punk asked, still in a daze from that wonderful kiss they had just shared, full of passion and love. He watched her stand off the couch and take hold of his hand, pulling him up, with that walking out of the living room and upstairs.

"AJ…" Punk paused as she went to head into the spare room, "You don't have to do this." Punk looked at her, knowing those eyes, knowing where she was headed and what intentions she had.

"I know, but I want this. We both need this." She looked up at him, "I want to feel you again." She said, not giving him much of a choice, turning back around and walking into the spare room where she had been sleeping, closing the door over behind her and walking towards him in the centre of the room.

In the inside Punk was screaming. He couldn't believe he was finally getting the go ahead to be with AJ the way he desired for all these months, but on the outside he knew he still had to make sure she wanted this.

"We don't have to do this. Don't force yourself." Punk said, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck.

"It's been too long." AJ said, reaching up on her tip toes and slowly kissing him, feeling him deepening the kiss. She had missed him like this, she felt like she was ready to come back to him. She knew she had nothing to be scared of, he wasn't going to hurt her.

He took care of her in every shape and form, he didn't tear her clothes off and throw her on the bed, he took it slow, made her feel safe and secure, controlled himself for her.

He didn't really believe she was pregnant all this time until he took the jumper she was wearing off, seeing the tiniest, cutest little bump ever. As much as she was still down and upset, she was glowing and when she did smile, it was never brighter.

He knew she would be petrified, he expected some flashbacks to come back to her from the night she was attacked, but it was just him. It was just Punk. And she knew that.

After slowly and gently taking all her clothing off of her and laying her on the bed, it began to feel like old times again. He wasn't upset anymore or down, he was with her, as close as close could be. He wasn't letting her go now.

"Do you trust me?" Punk asked her, brushing her hair from her face as he hovered on top of her, watching her swallow and nod. She didn't trust anyone more than Punk.

"Please… just do it." She begged, her hands placed on his shoulders as he parted her legs slowly, settling in between them and finding her opening, never taking his eyes from her.

As soon as he was back within her, AJ did feel like she couldn't breathe for just a moment. She could only think about how, the last time she was filled like this, was when she was attacked on that horrible night, but then she opened her eyes, and it was Punk who was there, caressing her and whispering sweet nothings to her. She had nothing to be afraid of, she was safe in his arms, and slowly as she began to come out of her panic phase, she began to enjoy the sensations and accept all of the pleasure she was feeling.

"Oh… Punk." She rolled her head back, her back arching from the bed as she enjoyed the intense, slow but deep thrusts inside her.

"AJ… you feel so good." Punk moaned, enjoying this moment of love. Being away from her like this for so long only made the pleasure ten times more intense and he loved it. He could see she was having a hard time with the first few strokes, but she had seemed to relax her tightened muscles and was enjoying the pleasure more like him. He knew it was a big step for her to take, but he just wanted to let her know he was here, and that she didn't have to be afraid.

They went for a few hours. Punk watched as so many orgasms had taken toll of her body, his name rolling off her tongue everytime he sent her over the edge. She deserved this love and pleasure, after everything she had been through, she deserved to feel wanted and to be held.

He realised that, whatever the outcome of the paternity test, he still had AJ. Sure, it was going to be hard, who wanted to raise a baby that wasn't their own, to look it in the eye and know it isn't your son or daughter. It was horrifying, but his love for AJ was too strong. He would never leave her.

After they had both had their fair share of highs for the night, they relaxed their tired bodies against one another, tangled in the sheets in the stuffy room, only then realising that this was Dean's house. They had a small chuckle about it, they knew their friend wouldn't be too bothered.

"I've missed you." Punk whispered to her, not meaning it in a long haul way, but in an intimate way.

"I've missed you too." AJ looked up at him.

She felt so loved and for once in a long time, she felt safe and secure in her boyfriends arms. He took care of her and loved her like no one else could. They could get through this.

"We'll get through this, AJ. I promise you." Punk said, kissing a sweet kiss on her head.

"I hope so." AJ said, looking up at him, into those green eyes she loved so very much, "I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart." Punk replied, feeling her snuggle into his chest, falling straight to sleep from the comfort of his body.

They slept together for a few hours. Punk however was wakened when he heard Dean come through the door later on. He didn't even flinch or try to move to get his clothes. He knew Dean would understand, of all people.

He heard his footsteps climb the stairs, approaching the room and opening the door. Punk was glad that Dean had been looking out for AJ.

Punk looked at Dean as soon as he walked into the room, raising his finger to his lips in a 'shh' signal, holding AJ close to him in bed as Dean scowled.

"You're cleaning those sheets." Dean whispered in his hoarse voice.

Punk chuckled silently, watching Dean exit the room but with a small smile, closing the door over and heading to his own room to sleep for the night.

Punk could only look forward, things were always going to get worse before they got better and he was glad to say that things seemed to be getting better. He just had to keep his nerves at bay for the paternity test and support AJ through it all. He loved her after all.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	33. Chapter 33

_Friday…_

AJ was back to staying in her own home with Punk, getting out of Dean's hair although he told her she was welcomed anytime. Her and Punk knew that avoiding each other was no use, they had to pull through together.

They were currently on their way to the hospital for AJ's first scan. AJ had nerves and almost butterflies. Although she wasn't as happy as what she should have been about her pregnancy, she still had some sort of butterflies in her tummy.

Punk on the other hand felt stiff, he didn't feel like he could get attached to the baby just yet, not until the test results came back, which they were going to ask about the tests today at the scan.

"Your legs are shaking." AJ spotted in the waiting room, putting her hand on Punks shaking leg, watching him turn around and look at her.

"It just seems more and more real now that we're here." Punk told her.

"I'm really glad you're here for me. I know… things might not turn out, how you want them to. But everything will work out." She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder just as her name was called out.

She always hated hospitals. She hated the smell and the thought of people being on their deathbed or in pain. She knew that going to see her baby for the first time should be an exciting thing, but she was nervous, like Punk said, everything was becoming more real. The more her stomach grew the more she realised she was actually pregnant.

She lay up on the bed, rolling her t-shirt up a little as she felt the midwife pour some cold gel on her stomach, pressing the probe against her grown tummy, rolling it around slowly to get a clear picture on the monitor.

"How far along are you?" The midwife asked with a smile.

"Just three months." AJ said, turning to Punk whose eyes were fixed on the monitor.

"Normally most expectant mothers and fathers can never see the baby because of how small it is, so don't worry." The midwife smiled, pulling the monitor forward to let Punk and AJ see.

"Where is it?" AJ asked, screwing her eyes up to try and find the visible baby.

"That's it right there." The midwife pointed out, "It's very small still, but it's got a very strong heartbeat. You're doing really good." The midwife smiled, "Would you like a copy of the picture?" She asked.

"Please." AJ nodded with a smile, turning to Punk who was gazing at the monitor.

Punk felt like he couldn't get excited too much, but he was so glad the baby was ok and healthy. It was nice to have a bright little light in all of this madness going on, even if that little light was made from darkness.

"Is there anyway you could tell me about… paternity testing?" AJ asked the midwife, watching her take some wipes to clean her gelled stomach.

"Well with how far along you are, I would suggest getting an amnio. It's quick and easy. However, there are some risks." The midwife said, watching AJ sit up and Punk stand up.

"What's the procedure?" Punk asked curiously, folding his arms.

"Well, we'd have to get you to fill in a consent form first. A needle will be put into your uterus to extract a sample of amniotic fluids. They fluids can tell us about any birth defects, the sex of the baby and of course DNA." The midwife said, "There is a risk of miscarriage but the baby has a strong heartbeat, it's growing strong, If it's something you need to consider doing, don't let that affect your decision." The midwife said.

"How long will it take to find out the results?" AJ asked curiously.

"A few days. I can see if a doctor is on call today, unless you need time to think about it." The midwife said, very understanding of the situation. She could sense something had happened, the couple in front of her looked very much in love, she could only think of one reason why this man wasn't the father.

AJ looked to Punk and watched him nod. At the end of the day, it was up to her, it was her body on the line, her baby and health.

"I just want it done and out the way." AJ turned to the midwife as she watched her nod.

"I can understand that. I'll go get you a few forms to sign and I'll see if the doctor is on call. One of our healthcare professionals will come by before the procedure to talk you through things." The midwife smiled, "I'll just be a minute." With that saying, she left the room.

"I'm going to have to tell this health care professional what happened, aren't I?" AJ looked at Punk, lying back up on the bed, taking a deep and nervous sigh.

"Probably." Punk nodded, "No one is going to judge you for doing this. It's the right decision. I'm going to be right here, holding your hand throughout the full thing, ok?" Punk said, taking a seat back beside her, taking her hand in his and kissing the top of it as she faked a smile, her heart beating rapidly.

_Later that night…_

Her stomach was sore and tender from the testing but she was so relieved that it was all over and that they only had to wait a few days for the results to be posted to their local doctor. Having Punk beside her holding her hand whilst everything was going on made things a lot more copeable. She didn't feel alone and knew that her baby was a little fighter. She had full confidence that it would be fine.

Telling the healthcare professional about why she was choosing to do the tests was the hardest part, she hadn't really told anyone face to face about being raped besides Punk. As soon as she mentioned it, she felt the woman go a little off. She didn't blame her.

She didn't expect to have had the test done so quickly, but now, lying in bed with Punk at this moment, she was glad that it was over.

"It's so tiny." Punk looked at the sonogram picture in bed later on that night, AJ leaning against his chest, her thoughts running through her head rapidly.

"This test also detects the gender. Do you want to find out what the baby is?" AJ asked him curiously.

"I don't see why not. I already know it's a boy anyway." Punk smiled with pride.

"Is that right?" AJ looked up at him, "And what if it's a girl?" She said.

"I'm telling you, it's a boy." Punk smiled, realising that he actually had excitement inside him for once towards the baby. He'd been spending so much time shutting the baby out and pretending that it didn't exist when he hadn't noticed how much of a big deal this really was. The chances of him not being the father wasn't even beginning to bother him anymore, the baby would be loved regardless and that was all that mattered.

"Thank you for being there for me today. I know all of this is pretty hard going, I know it is for me. But we're getting there, aren't we?" AJ looked up at Punk.

"Of course we are. As soon as the results are back, all that is left to do is put Dom in his place. Soon enough this will all just be one huge past nightmare." Punk told her, kissing her head sweetly as she nodded.

"Be careful. You don't know what he is like." AJ said, worried that this man could do more than just attack her, worried for her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I don't. But he doesn't know what I'm like either." Punk said, stroking his hand down AJ's hair as he whispered sweet nothings to her to send her into a peaceful slumber, holding her close to him throughout the full night.

_A few days later…_

As soon as AJ got a phone call to tell her that the results had been posted to her local GP downtown, she immediately felt so nervous that she felt sick and threw up a few times before they left to head to the doctors.

Punk was just as nervous. He hadn't been so nervous in his entire life. He'd been more calm hanging off buildings than what he was now. He just wanted the baby to be his so bad. They both deserved just a little bit of goodness out of this horrifying few weeks.

"No matter what, I'm going to be here. Just remember that." Punk told her as they walked into the doctors office, taking a seat in front of the desk, both of them just as nervous as each other.

"It's nice to see you both. I believe I have some test results here from the amnio test you done a few days ago, yes?" The doctor said.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, watching closely as the doctor took the sheets of paper out of the envelope.

"Well, I won't keep you waiting. Let me see…" The doctor scanned through the papers that weren't important, looking for the results on the last page and looking down at them, "Would you like me to read all of them?" He asked.

"Yeah." Punk said.

"Ok." The doctor smiled, "The baby doesn't have any defects which is good to know. The heart is strong, no signs of any disabilities or diseases." The doctor smiled as AJ nodded with relief, glad that her baby was perfectly healthy which she knew it would be all along.

"The DNA here, obviously has you… April Jeanette Mendez as the mother, we all knew that." The doctor smiled, "And the chromosomes here we detected are from…"

Punk was sure his heart was going to be straight out of his chest, he felt like he couldn't breathe, he felt like someone was choking all the air from his lungs until suddenly… his name echoed through the room.

"Phillip Jack Brooks." The doctor looked at them both.

AJ smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek, turning around to Punk who was sat in shock, taking a few delayed minutes to turn to her with a smile. He had no more tension around him, no more pressure of being a father to a child that was not his. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

AJ stood up and shuffled to Punk, wrapping her arms around him as she buried her head into his neck, her tears dripping on to his shoulder, finally feeling like something good had came out of all of this horrible series of events.

"Would you like a tissue?" The doctor asked as AJ turned around nodding, taking a tissue from the box and wiping her eyes, taking her own seat again and turning to Punk with a smile.

Punk was on cloud nine. It felt like they were finally getting somewhere, that their little baby was made to help them survive through these awful months. He was still in so much shock but so much happiness was coursing through his veins.

"And the sex of the baby…" The doctor said after giving the overjoyed, emotional couple a few minutes, "It's a girl, congratulations." The doctor smiled, the cherry on top of the cake to all of the news they had just heard.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**How could I not. Lol xD Thanks for all the REVIEWS. Appreciate them so much. You are all so amazing.**


	34. Chapter 34

Punk couldn't help the long make out session he had with his girlfriend in the parking lott outside the doctors. Everything felt like it was heading in the right direction for once. He felt like they were moving on. He was sure he wasn't the father. It was the greatest surprise and feeling in the world. Not to mention it was a baby girl they were expecting, which mushed Punks heart already.

"You're all mine." Punk crouched down, placing both hands through her opened coat and onto her tummy, feeling like he could start preparing to be a dad, and not just a fake one.

"I'm so happy." AJ smiled with glee, watching Punk stand back up straight.

She was ever so glad that it wasn't her rapists baby she was carrying, but her best friend, her soul mate, her boyfriends baby. Not only that, but she had the absolute joy in saying that it was a baby girl they were having.

"We deserve this. This is the good coming out of all of this." Punk told her, his hands on her waist, never feeling more closer to her than now. He could see how happy she was, she had never smiled bigger in her entire life.

She felt completely overjoyed by this compelling news. Regardless of her having to stand in court and face the man who raped her soon when Dean, Seth and Roman found Dom, she now knew that she had Punk and she had _their _baby girl.

"I love her already." AJ smiled cheerfully, placing her hand on her bump, finally feeling like things were back in her favour.

"I love her too." Punk smiled sweetly, "I love _you_." He said, leaning down and pressing his lips back against hers, their kiss full of love and happiness. The elephant that was forever standing in the room since she found out she was pregnant had finally disappeared and she was proud to say that her and her boyfriend were having a baby.

_Later on…_

Punk and AJ had decided to stop by at Seth's where they knew Dean, Renee, Roman and of course Seth would be, to tell them the good news. It called for a celebration in Punks opinion and he was so excited to see the reaction on all his friends faces.

"We've just ordered some take out. You're both welcome to stay." Seth said as he let an unexpected Punk and AJ into the apartment.

"Yeah… I think we will." AJ smiled, taking her coat off and walking through into the sitting area where Dean, Renee and Roman were, following Punk who also had a huge smile on his face.

"What are you two doing round here?" Dean asked, watching as Punk and AJ strolled through into the living room, Renee curdled into his torso as he held a bottle of beer in his hand, noticing that his two friends seemed happier than usual.

"We're just back from the doctors." Punk announced, taking his and AJ's jackets and hanging them over at the back of the couch.

"Is everything ok?" Roman asked, sitting up from slouching on the couch, all of them opening their eyes more clearly from their chilled out Monday night.

"Is it the baby?" Renee asked, leaning off of Dean as Seth stood at the door with his arms folded, curious as to why AJ and Punk were at the doctors.

"Yeah actually, it is." AJ smiled, "We got a paternity test done a few days ago and got the results back today." She watched as they all intrigued themselves in what she had to say, "Punks the father." AJ smiled, hugging her arms into her boyfriend as Dean jumped out of the couch, punching the air with triumph as all of them reacted with such happiness and shock.

"I knew it." Roman slapped his hand off his thigh, all of them approaching Punk and AJ, wrapping their arms around each other in a group hug, Renee too. Everyone was just so happy at this news. It had been a subject on all their minds recently and they were just so glad that Punk was the father.

"Oh…" Punk remembered, lifting his head up from the group hug, "And it's a girl." He said as they all uproared again, large and thumping pats connecting to Punks back from his boys, sweet hugs and kisses to AJ from her big brothers and Renee. It was a moment they had all been hoping for and for once they were all smiling like they used to.

"I think you should name her Deanette personally. Or Deania." Dean suggested, having had his name ruled out since it wasn't a boy they were expecting.

"We'll think about it." Punk smiled to Dean with raised eyebrows, enjoying this close moment with his friends.

AJ loved this moment. This moment right here was what she lived for. When things were tough she knew she had these amazing people to turn to. They all deserved to be happy after all the pain and sorrow they had all been through, especially AJ. This little girl had the greatest parents and uncles and auntie.

The night ticked on and food was delivered to Seth's apartment as they all made a celebration of this great news.

AJ was glad there was food ordered as she for one was starving. Her friends were happy, her boyfriend was never happier, therefor she was happy and for once, she wasn't thinking about the past and what happened to her, but the future and how she was having a baby with someone she loved very much, not someone who raped her.

Punk watched as AJ loaded her plate full with the chinese take out they had ordered for the night, spread out on the kitchen table.

"Do you have enough there?" Punk chuckled to her as he watched her fill her plate.

"I'm eating for two, remember." She smiled, taking her plate with her and walking through into the sitting room, leaving Punk in the kitchen with Dean, Roman and Seth, keeping Renee company in the sitting area.

"Weight lifted off your shoulders then, huh?" Seth smiled to Punk, taking a drink of his orange juice he was drinking.

"You have no idea." Punk said with a good natured sigh, leaning against the kitchen worktop. He couldn't explain how relieved he was, but now the nerves were kicking in that he was actually going to be a father.

"Now it's time to get that fucker and put him in his place." Dean said, "We done some research on him. It's not the first time he's done this to a girl…" Dean looked across at Punk.

"What do you mean?" Punk shook his head.

"The guy has a criminal record." Roman said, all three of them having been searching into Dom's past while Punk settled at home with AJ, "He's been trialled for rape before, got away with it." The samoan man said.

"And he's been convicted for domestic violence, gang criminal damage, assault. The dude is fucked up." Seth told Punk.

"Do you guys know where we can find him?" Punk asked. The baby issue he had going on may have came out successful, but he still had to go out and find Dom and give him what he deserved.

"We reckon he's in the south side, that's where all his crimes have taken place." Dean said, "We may aswell just…"

Dean was paused in mid sentence as a loud smash came from in the living room, followed by a shriek from Renee, causing Dean to come rushing in, Punk, Seth and Roman right behind him as they walked in to see shattered glass all over the floor, the window broke, a huge draft coming from it.

"You two alright?" Dean asked, walking over to Renee and AJ to make sure they were ok.

Seth was already running down the apartment stairs to see if he could catch whoever it was that panded in his window.

AJ hadn't really flinched, she got a fright of course, but she wasn't as worked up as Renee. She was a cop, she was used to things like this. Although she did hate that their night had to be spoiled.

"Nobody touch the brick." Punk said, looking at the brick that had been thrown into the window.

"I swear to god, this guy is asking for it." Dean paced, "That brick could have hit someone on the head." He shrieked.

"Calm down, yeah?" Punk said, knowing that Dean being worked up was only making Renee worked up.

Punk walked across to the opened, wide, smashed in window, looking down at Seth on the pavement, too late to have caught the man behind the throwing of the brick, although they all had a good idea on who it was.

"Get him?!" Punk yelled out of the window.

"No!" Seth yelled up to Punk, heading back into the apartment block and upstairs.

Punk didn't like this. This guy was beginning to make things personal. He hadn't just attacked his girlfriend now, but he was moving on to his friends. That brick could have hit Renee or even AJ on the head, hard enough to kill either of them. He wasn't living in a world where his girlfriend was scared to be in so many places she used to feel safe in.

"I've called Clint." Seth came into the sitting area, pieces of shattered glass everywhere as Dean soothed Renee in the corner.

Dean left Renee's side for a minute, leaving her to take comfort in AJ who was trying to act calm with everything, hiding her fears and worries behind a small smile.

Punk felt Dean grab him and pull him into the hall, looking him in the eye seriously, "I want Renee out of here." Dean told Punk, "I don't want her in danger or set as a target." Dean told Punk.

"I can't exactly ship her away, Dean. What do you want me to do?" Punk looked at Dean.

"I want her and AJ to go to the lake house, I can't… I can't focus on getting this guy if I feel like my girl is in danger." Dean said, "If they're safe, out of harms way, we can get the job done with no distractions." Dean said, "That brick could have killed one of them." Dean gritted his teeth with anger, "I'm done with this fucking bullshit. This ends now." He drew a line with his hand.

Punk could see the anger in his friend. Everything he said made couldn't drag out any longer. They had their guy, they had enough information for them to set out. It was time for this to end, once and for all, and for Punk to meet his evil, half brother.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	35. Chapter 35

"I thought you promised me you wouldn't get involved with finding him." AJ said the day, a overnight bag over her arm as her and Renee had seemed to be packed off to the lake house.

"I know, but that was before I found out I was related to the guy." Punk said, "I don't want you in anymore danger. I know you think you can handle yourself, but just give me some peace of mind here." Punk smiled to her sweetly as she smiled, both of them standing outside the lake house, Dean having already taken Renee in to show her about.

"Be careful." AJ told him, "You are actually going to be a father now. Don't get yourself killed." She said, knowing that Punk could handle himself, he had his friends for support anyway.

"At this point. I don't think I can even put the guy to prison. I might just blow his head off right there and then." Punk said, putting his hands in his jean pockets as AJ smiled.

"Video it for me then." She looked up at him as he chuckled, "But for real, be careful. I want you back in one piece." AJ said, cupping his cheek softly.

It felt so strange to see her friends go out to find this guy without her. It was the first time she had ever had to sit out of a mission. She had full confidence in her boys however and knew they would give Dom everything he deserved and more.

"I'll keep in touch, yeah." Punk nodded to her, reaching down and kissing her sweetly on the lips, his hands moving to place on her grown belly.

Knowing AJ would be safe here not only helped to keep a peace of mind, but would help him to put his full attention into finding Dom and kicking his ass..

"I love you." AJ smiled, pulling back from the kiss as Punk took a step back.

"I love you too." Punk replied, watching as Dean walked out of the door and to his side.

"You ready?" Dean asked Punk, watching his tattoo'd friend nod.

Dean gave AJ a sweet hug and told her Renee was already in the kitchen pouring herself wine, taking Punk by the shirt he was wearing, knowing he would have just stood facing AJ all day, pulling him down to the car where Roman and Seth were, all of them getting in.

"So we're heading to the south side, boys. We're making a visit before we even get close to him." Seth said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Visit to who?" Punk asked in the back seat with Dean.

"You'll see." Seth said, indicating out of the lake house and getting on the main road.

_Later on…_

After a long drive to the south side of the city, Seth had pulled up to a house on the main street, parking the car beside the pavement, all of them standing out, still partially confused on who they were visiting first.

"Ok, can you tell us who we're visiting now?" Dean asked Seth as they all got on the pavement.

"Remember I said he was trialled for rape before but got away with it because there wasn't enough evidence? Well… this is the girl he attacked." Seth said, "I figured maybe she could tell us if she knew anything about him, if she knew where he lived." Seth said.

"Oh yeah, because what she'll be doing is stalking her rapist." Roman looked at Seth, "She won't know anything." He shook his head.

"Well I don't know if any of you have noticed. But the south side is quite a big area, unless you guys have a better plan, this is what we're doing." Seth said.

"But he is bound to know we're coming after the window last night. He'll be waiting on us." Punk said, "We know his name, we can ask around. Someone is bound to know him." Punk said, not feeling the need to go chapping at a girls door who had been through enough previously.

"Oh, alright. What would I know." Seth rolled his eyes.

And with that they spent the next few hours parading the city, asking people in the street, people in bars, supermarkets, shopping centres, street corners and parks, asking anyone and everyone if they knew anyone by the name of Dom Brooks. No one seemed to know, until they came across an elderly man on a street corner, walking stick in hand, a fishermans hat on his head.

"Excuse me, sir." Punk tapped the man with respect, "Do you know anyone around here named Dom Brooks?" He asked, the rest of the guys crossing the road to Punk.

"Yes." The elderly man nodded, looking up at the four young boys in front of him who were all rather excited that they had finally found someone who knew who they were looking for, "He lives in my apartment block." The man said, "He's very loud." The man huffed, assuming these boys were friends of Dom.

"Could you tell me which apartment block?" Punk asked.

"Two blocks down and to your left." The man waved his walking stick in front of him to give directions.

"Thank you." Punk said, having could have kissed the little man for his simple information.

_With AJ and Renee…_

"I hope they'll be ok." Renee said, sitting on the couch in the sitting area with AJ who had been rather quiet all day and night.

"They will be." AJ smiled, "It's one against four." She told Renee, trying to assure her that things would be fine.

"You want to be out there, don't you." Renee said, seeing it all in AJ's face.

"It just doesn't feel right that they're out and I'm not. I've never been left behind." AJ sighed.

"They aren't just going after a bad guy, AJ. They're going after the guy who raped you. Plus, you can't be in danger when you're pregnant." Renee said.

"I know." AJ understood, "I'm just worried Punk will lose it." She told Renee with honesty. She could imagine Punk tearing Dom from limb to limb, regardless of them being brothers. That meant squat to Punk.

"Dean, Seth and Roman are there to hold him back, he'll be fine." Renee said, turning table to where she was now reassuring AJ.

"I know." AJ nodded, "I just want it all over with." AJ sighed, laying her head down against the cushions on the couch.

"Do you still think about it?" Renee asked, putting her glass of wine down and looking towards AJ, watching as her friend buried her head away into the couch, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed, "Hey…" Renee stood up and sat down beside AJ, "It's alright." The blonde haired woman sighed, pulling AJ up and hugging her arms around her, "It's ok." Renee said.

"I just want someone to wake me up when this is all over." AJ moaned within her cry, leaning into Renee for comfort.

"It'll be over soon." Renee said.

They sat on the couch together for a little while, letting AJ recompose herself and apologise to Renee, not knowing what had came over. Having had a mad hormonic emotional spell come over her. Just as they began to settle back into normal conversation, noises began to struck AJ as the outside light flashed on.

"Did you hear that?" AJ asked Renee, sitting up on the couch.

_With Punk…_

Punk and the rest of the guys had found the apartment they were directed to and banged on nearly every single door, finally reaching the top floor which was their last option, kicking the door down and raising their guns out of the back of their jean pockets, Punk taking the lead as they all walked through the hall.

"Check the rooms." Punk told the boys behind him, only hearing a voice from the sitting area.

"No need." A sharp and croaked voice came from the living room, reminding Punk so much of his fathers voice, "I'm in here." The voice spoke.

Punk didn't hesitate, he walked briskly down the remaining hall and into the sitting area, looking across at Dom sitting on a chair, so calm and smug, as if he was waiting for them, his cigarette in between his middle and index finger, empty cans of beer around on the floor. To Punk, it was like being back in his home growing up, it smelled the exact same.

"So here's my famous little brother." Dom smiled up, puffing on his cigarette as he looked into Punks eyes, similar to his.

"You've messed with the wrong guys." Dean said, standing side on with Punk as he looked at the man behind all the sorrow going on with AJ.

"Quite frankly I don't care who you guys are, I'm just…"

"You should care." Seth spat, "We're the guys that are going to fuck you up, put you in a wheelchair, paralyse the fuck out of your rotten body." Seth said, meanwhile Punk just stood looking at Dom, images of what he done to AJ running through his mind, making it hard to breathe, especially with all the smoke in the room.

"Why don't you all let my brother say something." Dom suggested, "He's rather speechless." The evil man laughed, putting his cigarette out on the ashtray and standing up, round about the same height as Punk, "C'mon Phil, what do you want to say to me?" Dom said.

"Why? Why did you… rape, my girlfriend?" Punk gritted his teeth as Dom smiled.

"As much as I'd like to say because I wanted to, I done it to get to you. You have it all, don't you. The job, the money, the house, the girl, the friends." Dom said, emphasising on the friends part of the sentence.

"What happened to just showing up at my door like a real man." Punk said.

"Let me put a name out in the open." Dom said, "Kevin harvey." He looked at them all without his smug smile this time.

"What about him?" Dean said.

"He was a good friend of mine." Dom turned and picked the photograph up of him and Kevin on the mantel, "That was when I found out I had a brother. He told me about you killing his brother, told me his plan about going after you and your little team. I was convinced he would have killed you all, including that little girlfriend of yours. But I was told a week later that my best friend was killed." Dom put his hand on his chest.

"It's our job. We take out scum like you and Harvey. Deal with it." Roman said.

"I didn't deal with it though. I had to get to you. Everyone knows the physical damage is never as bad as the emotional." Dom said, "Dad had told me about how much of a pain in the neck you were growing up. How he wished it was just me and Mike he had. You know, he told me you were the reason he started drinking." Dom said, watching Punk bat his eyes his way.

"I don't give a fuck about my dad." Punk screwed his eyes up.

"I guess I'm going off track a little." Dom chuckled harshly, "I'd been watching you with your girl for a few weeks, wondering how to get to you when I suddenly realised I could have so much fun while doing so. I watched her out a bar with her friend, the little blonde one. It was hard not to do the two of them." Dom said, Dean's fists tightening into a ball.

"So you decided that raping her would get me to come talk to you." Punk said.

"Well it's worked, hasn't it." Dom smiled across at Punk, "I expected a little bit of a fight from her, but she just took it, no resisting." Dom said, "She looked like she was used to having dick inside her." Dom said as Punk rolled his neck from side to side, trying to keep his cool.

"So all of this is because I killed your friend?" Punk asked him.

"That… and because of how you've turned out. You had to go prove everyone wrong like the cocky little bastard you are. I was told you were smiling at dad's funeral." Dom said with cold eyes.

"I was. I was fucking ecstatic. I was dancing on his fucking grave." Punk smiled across at Dom just as sadistically, "The guy was a fucking prick. Just like you." Punk said.

"So yeah… maybe I'm doing this for Kevin, maybe I'm doing it for dad, or maybe I'm just doing it because of the little cunt you are who turned his back on his family, but I have control over you. You don't even know it." Dom said.

"You don't have control over me." Punk shook his head, not knowing how long he could hold himself back.

"Yeah? Why don't you phone April." Dom smiled.

Punk just tilted his head to the side with confusion, slowly lowering his gun and taking his phone out, calling AJ who was at the top of the contacts list he had, keeping his eyes on Dom as he put the phone on loudspeaker, listening to it ring out until the phone picked up the most god awful scream ever.

"Phil!" AJ shrieked down the phone, Renee's screams heard in the background.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	36. Chapter 36

"AJ!... April…" Punk yelled at the phone, hearing the line go dead as he looked up at Dom.

"What the fuck have you done to them?" Dean inched towards Dom.

"Some of my guys have just paid them a visit. But don't worry Phil, I did tell them to be careful with April. I wouldn't want anything to happen to that sweet little baby." Dom said, feeling a punch strike out on his face from Punk, sending him to the floor to where Punk was standing over him.

Punk crouched down, took his gun out his pocket and pressed the end of the weapon against Dom's head, his finger on the trigger as he shut his eyes, reliving all of the past few months, how hurt AJ had been, how upset and scared she had felt because him, what this man had done to her, done to his family and friends. He didn't deserve to take another breath.

He pulled the trigger, the whole apartment echoing with a bang as they all looked away, not exactly the cleanest shooting they had seen from the gun being up so close.

Punk felt no emotion, no remorse whatsoever what doing what he had done. The man deserved to be exactly where his father was. Burning in hell.

But now they had to turn their attention to a clearly endangered AJ and Renee who were both a three hour drive away.

_With AJ and Renee…_

All AJ could see was darkness. She was sitting on a hard chair with a black blindfold around her eyes, her hands tied behind her back. She had no idea where Renee was or what had happened to her, but she was scared. She tried to fight them when she spotted intruders, but her pregnant instincts were holding her back.

She was scared yet again, knowing that her boyfriend was more than a three hours drive away, that was if her boyfriend was still in one piece. She knew she was in a room upstairs, she didn't know which, all she could remember was being dragged up each step by the hair, no one showing her the decency or respect that she deserved whilst being pregnant.

She jumped when she heard the door bang, realising she was with company, not knowing who was with her or why, her eyes completely shut out from the world as was her movement in her arms.

She could feel a presence getting closer to her, suddenly feeling a touch on her thigh, causing her to flinch with fear.

"Please… let us go." AJ shook her head with a small cry, if they wouldn't let her go, they could at least let Renee go, wherever she was.

She didn't hear a reply, just a loud heavy breathing that had seemed to crouch down, both hands on her thighs now, feeling the force of these hands begin to spread her legs from each other. She couldn't let history repeat itself, especially not when she couldn't see anything. She was shaking with fear, her ears picking up on a zipper being undone, a small whimper escaping her mouth.

"Please, don't." AJ shook her head from side to side rapidly, closing her legs back together as the two hands pushed them back apart. She felt like she was going to throw up. She couldn't go through this all again. She wouldn't survive. She barely survived the first time.

Just as she began to feel the hands to the presence she was feeling, strike out and undo her jeans button, she heard the door open, a voice coming from the door that she couldn't quite hear, lucky enough feeling the presence start to disappear away, the door banging shut as she let out a deep sigh of relief.

She couldn't just sit and wait for whatever that was to come back and finish what he wanted to start. She had to think of a plan.

She knew she was on quite a dainty wooden chair, she assumed it would break very easily, so she tipped the chair back, falling hard on her back, hoping the baby would be ok, successfully snapping the chair enough for her to wriggle her hands free and out of around the chair. She then took her blindfold off and threw it away, looking around at the bedroom she was in, going back to the chair and breaking one of the legs off to use as a weapon, everything else in the room being useless to her.

She slowly walked to the door, pressing her ear against it to listen for any voices, hearing nothing and opening it up, tip toeing out and running down the hall, checking rooms carefully for Renee.

After checking every room upstairs, she headed for the staircase, looking down through the railings to see if anyone was downstairs, after not seeing anyone in sight, she tip toed down and ran behind a wall, peaking around it and watching her step.

She ran into the kitchen and spotted Renee in the exact same position she was, blindfolded on a seat with her hands behind her back.

"Renee…" AJ whispered, "Keep quiet, yeah?" She said, grabbing a knife from the rack and going behind Renee, untying her hands and taking her blindfold off.

"What is happening?" Renee shook with fear, standing up and looking at AJ, "We're going to die, aren't we… oh my god." Renee panicked.

"We are not going to die." AJ promised, "Stay behind me." She said, walking out of the kitchen just to bump into the men who had put them in this situation. Their language was some sort of khorian and they were fast. AJ blinked and she was being held at knife point.

She couldn't understand anything the men were saying, they weren't speaking english.

They were dragged into the sitting area, their arms once again tied behind their back as they were roughly shoved to lie on the floor, the furniture being tipped upside down around them, one man going around and soaking everything with alcoholic toxins and petrol.

AJ watched in horror as one of the men lit a match, throwing it onto the soaking flammable couch, flames catching right away, circling around her and Renee as they tried to wriggle out of the rope tied behind their arms.

"Don't breathe in the smoke!" AJ yelled at Renee, the sound of fire crackling around them overshadowing her voice.

For once in her life, AJ couldn't count on Punk to come save her, he was three hours away at least, he was most likely in a war with Dom. She didn't want to die, she wasn't ready to leave this place. She didn't want to die pregnant. She wanted to meet her baby girl.

She closed her eyes and prayed that it wouldn't hurt when the fire caught on to them, which could be any minute. Renee was still squirming around and yelping for help that wasn't coming…

Until AJ's ears picked up on a loud noise from outside, like a strong gust of window had just came.

_With Punk, Dean, Seth and Roman…_

"We arrive in style bitches." Dean hopped out of the helicopter, taking his gun out and shooting the korean man running down to approach him.

Punk followed out of the extremely loud helicopter with Seth and Roman behind, immediately dropping his gun when he seen the house on fire, sprinting up the hill to the house with Dean right behind him, leaving Seth and Roman to take out Dom's little korean friends.

"You stay out here." Punk told Dean, "I'll get them both." Punk said as Dean shook his head.

"No, I need to get Renee!" Dean yelled as Punk held him back.

"Stay here!" Punk shouted, "I'll get them both. I promise." He said as Dean paused from his wriggling, nodding and watching Punk cover his mouth over his taken off sweater, running into the burning house, pushing his way through fallen bits of ceiling and wood, hearing faint cries from the living room.

He followed the cries into the living room, spotting AJ and Renee lying down on the floor.

AJ thought she was dreaming. She had to be. He couldn't have got here so quick.

Punk ran over to them, picking them up one by one, throwing Renee over his shoulder, holding AJ close to his chest, pressing her head in against him for her to not breathe any fuels in.

"Hang in there." Punk told them, their faces dusty and black, luckily the fire having not reached them yet.

Punk kicked down bits of furniture in his way, following the bright light that was the door, stumbling out it and down the steps, tumbling over with AJ while Renee was caught by a thankful Dean.

AJ lay on Punks chest coughing, turning her head to look down at Punk who was smiling.

"Are you ok?" Punk asked her.

"Yes." AJ nodded, leaning down and kissing his black lips with her equally black lips, running her hands through his hair as he held her close.

She wasn't dreaming, he'd really saved her, unexplainably in AJ's defence. She just lay there for a few more minutes, pressing her lips on his, suddenly feeling someone roll her roughly off him, one of the korean men pulling Punk to his weak feet and punching him to where blood flew out his mouth.

AJ looked up and turned to Dean, noticing he was over with Renee at the ambulance that was called. She couldn't see Seth or Roman either. She got to her feet and watched as Punk quarreled with the man down the hill, tumbling over and rolling down for the most of the way, both of them ending up landing on the frozen lake.

AJ ran down with the only energy she had, hearing Punk warn her not to come on the ice while he got beat to a pulp by the skillful, quick man in front of him, what seemed to be the last man standing from Dom's team.

"What is he doing?" Seth ran over when he seen AJ, about to step on the lake to help his friend when he heard a cracking noise, immediately taking his foot back and looking at AJ.

"Punk!" AJ yelled, "Get off the…"

She watched as the ice caved in, splitting a circle around where Punk and the smaller man were standing, both of them slipping right under. AJ watched as Punk tried to grasp on to the ice with his hands, falling to her knees when she seen his hands disappear, his full body underneath the freezing cold lake. From fire to ice. She didn't believe he could possibly pull through, not in such freezing cold depths. He would most likely freeze and that terrified her. She watched and watched the patch that was broken, hoping… praying that he would show.

Seth frowned with a quivering lip as he crouched down to AJ, wrapping his arm around her as she buried her head into his shoulder, not being able to watch. It was up to Punk and his own strength to save himself. If anyone went in there to get him, they would only be killing themselves.

Seth watched and watched as AJ cried into him, Roman far in the distance with Dean and Renee. He had to double blink when he seen two tattooed hands grasp on to the edge of the full intact ice, pulling himself up with so much pain in his face.

"Look… look." Seth nudged AJ as she turned around and watched Punk pulling himself up from under the ice, his face a blue, purple colour which wasn't good, his chitters so loud they could hear it from over on the grass.

Seth left AJ's side and very carefully walked onto the ice, taking Punks hand, feeling like he was being stabbed by icebergs when he held it, never feeling something so cold in his life. No body was meant to be so cold.

Seth managed to get Punk laid on the grass out of any more frozen lake danger.

AJ watched in fear as Punk shook, as if he was being electrocuted.

"Take his clothes off and hug him. I'll go get someone." Seth said, running up the hill as AJ quickly began to strip Punk out of his freezing wet clothes that had actually became rather solid like ice.

Stay with me, baby. Just look at me." AJ looked into Punks eyes, knowing his body was beginning to not respond, "Keep your eyes on me." She said with fear, stripping him down to his boxers, pulling him up into her arms and hugging him tightly, trying to give him some of her own body heat, feeling him shiver and chitter like never before.

"Keep your eyes open." AJ ran her hands through his frosty hair, "Don't fall asleep." AJ begged, hugging him tightly, not being surprised if she would have squeezed him to death.

His body was stone cold, his lips were blue and his eyelids were going purple. His eyes were beginning to shut over, staying shut for longer and longer.

"Stay with me, Punk. Think about me… think about our daughter." AJ said, watching his eyes open with determination, so much pain in his body, so much frozen pain. He'd been shot and it hurt more than this.

"She needs you." AJ told him, "Don't you die on her." She bit her lip trying to hold back the tears, "Don't you die on me." She held him tightly, feeling him get taken out of her arms and into professionals, a blanket being wrapped around him tightly as well as some sort of foiled blanket.

All she could do was watch, her tears cleaning the black dust from her cheeks. He looked so weak, it made her feel weak, he needed to pull through this. After everything they had been through, he had to pull through this.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	37. Chapter 37

"How is he?" Dean asked as he walked through the hospital room, looking over at AJ sitting beside Punks bed, monitors beeping through the room.

"No change." AJ sighed, "He's still freezing." She told Dean, holding Punks hand that was still cold as ice.

"He'll heat up." Dean told her, "Renee is being checked over in a room down the hall, maybe you should go too." Dean suggested.

"I'm fine." AJ insisted, not going anywhere. She was sticking beside Punk, she wanted to be there when he woke up, "Did you get… Dom?" AJ swallowed loudly.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, "Punk shot him." Dean told her, putting his hands in his jean pockets, "He'll be alright, AJ." He said, seeing so much worry in AJ's face.

"What if he isn't?" AJ looked up at Dean, turning back to Punk whose eyes were shut, out cold, literally, cold.

"He will be." Dean simply said, "I'm going to see Renee. I'm just down the hall if you need me." The blonde haired man said, leaving the room and shutting the door over.

AJ sighed as she looked at Punk. They'd finally came to the end of this horrible journey, only for Punk to fall at the final hurdle. She thought for a minute that he wouldn't have even made it out of the water, but he did. With the very little strength he had, he pulled himself out.

She just wanted him to be ok, so they could move on and forget about everything that had happened these past few months. So they could pick up where they left off.

"You can't leave me." She looked to him, "Not now." She shook her head, "You have to meet our daughter. She's going to need you." AJ sighed, hoping he could hear what she was seeing, hear about how much he was needed in this life.

Her life would be so empty without him there. After everything they had managed to get through, he couldn't leave her now, not ever.

_Later on…_

AJ had to force herself away from Punk later on in the night to go home and get some rest. It had been such a tiring night and she needed to go find some ways to relax, trying not to think about her poor boyfriend laid up in a hospital bed.

She kept herself busy when she went home. Doing some washings and ironing, planning to go for a bath after to relax her muscles and hopefully get some sort of sleep, arranging for Dean to take her into the hospital the next morning to where hopefully Punk would be awake after plenty of rest. She just wanted to see those green eyes and that perfect smile.

AJ had carried a pile of ironed clothes upstairs, walking into her and Punks room and putting the clothes all away bit by bit, taking her time so she wasn't doing too much. Finally opening Punks bedside drawers to put his things away, her hand knocking off a hard box in the corner of the drawer when she placed some clothes in.

She dug the clothes to the side and looked at the velvet feeling box, taking it out into her hand and sitting on the edge of the bed. She slowly opened the box and stared at the glistening diamond ring. The box nearly fell from her hand due to shock, quickly scuttering her hands so that she wouldn't drop the box.

Her hand flew over her mouth. She knew what this was, she wasn't an idiot. She couldn't believe he was going to propose. She was so overwhelmed and surprised. She wondered how long he had the ring for, and when he was planning to put it on her finger.

She quickly put the box back where she found it, smiling to herself as she finished off putting the rest of the clothes away, heading for a bath with a smile on her face.

The thought of being a wife and a mother, and doing those things with him. It gave her excited butterflies and such a content set of mind. She just hoped for him to get better quickly so they could move on with their life together.

_The next morning…_

AJ was up bright and early the next morning, waiting for Dean to pick her up to take her to the hospital. She had been thinking all night about how bizarre it was that Punk was going to ask her to marry him. It gave her such excited butterflies. She just hoped Punk was recovering ok.

Dean had gone off to get a coffee first while AJ headed straight to Punks room, walking in and seeing him turn his head from the TV he was watching, a bright smile on his face when he seen her.

"Hey." He whispered, his voice a little hoarse from all the oxygen tubes down him, which had all just been taken out.

"You're awake." AJ smiled with glee, walking over to him and hugging her arms around him tightly, his body much warmer now, chuckling at the amount of blankets and duvets he had on him, "Are you still cold?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He nodded, not to mention his head was killing him, the freezing cold water had went straight to his brain, but he was recovering in the right direction and that was all she needed to know, "How are you?" He asked her.

"I'm fine. You saved me. You saved Renee." AJ said, sitting on the edge of the bed and cupping his cheek.

"I couldn't lose you." Punk said quietly, "Both of you." He rubbed her tummy gently with a smile.

AJ stood up and began to unzip her sweater, "I was putting away washing last night when I came across something in your drawer." She said, putting the zipper she was wearing at the bottom of the bed. She wasn't going to say anything, but she wasn't going to wait until he decided to ask her.

"What did you come across in my drawer?" Punk asked her curiously.

"Are you going to ask me to marry you?" AJ folded her arms and looked at Punk, watching a guilty frown come over him, then a silent chuckle following that.

"Busted." Punk smiled up at her, still speaking hoarse and quiet, "I should have probably hid it a little better." He said, disappointed that she had found the ring he was hiding until the right time.

"Yes." AJ said, watching him lift his head and look across at her.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"Yes… I'll marry you. One thousand times, yes." She smiled as an overwhelmed smile came across his face, not expecting her to be so intrigued in the idea. He was planning to maybe ask her at least once the baby was born, but she looked so keen and happy, her smile was so bright and cheery.

"Really?" Punk said in disbelief.

"Yes. God, yes." She nodded her head with a smile, leaning down to kiss him when he grabbed her around the waist, toppling on top of him as they passionately kissed.

AJ leaned off him and walked over to the door, grabbing a chair as Punk wondered what on earth she was doing.

"What are you doing?" He croaked.

"Shh." She told him, sticking the chair underneath the door handle so no one would be able to come in.

Punk watched as she walked back over to him, putting one knee on the bed as she brought her other leg around, straddling his hips as he laughed like a child.

"You can't be serious." He said with a laugh, it slowly fading when he realised she was being serious.

"What'd you expect? No engagement sex?" She looked down at him like he was insane, "Plus, body heat is good for you right now." She said, leaning down and peppering his mouth with sweet hot kisses that took his breath away.

Both of their heads lifted when the door began to knock.

"Hey, AJ! I can't get in." Dean knocked at the door.

"Um…" AJ looked down at Punk, "I'm helping Punk get changed." She said, looking down at Punk who stared up at her unimpressed.

"How long will you be?" Dean asked with a huff.

"About half an hour." AJ said, feeling Punk nudge her, "Um no… an hour." She said, hearing Dean groan outside the room door, his footsteps trailing away as she chuckled and looked down at him, running her hands through her hair.

"What if a nurse tries to get in?" Punk said, feeling AJ kiss his neck, her body on his already heating him up even more, the blood rushing completely down south and coursing through his veins.

"Then she can wait." AJ told him with a smile. She didn't care where they were. A bedroom, a car, the kitchen, a park or even a hospital. She was getting married, she had actually found someone who wanted her like no one ever did, she was celebrating whether Dean, a nurse or even Punk liked it or not.

_An hour later…_

"That was definitely… different." Punk said, AJ laying beside him in bed with her clothes back on, feeling at peace in her, now fiance's arms.

"That should warm you up." AJ said with a good natured smile, "When do you think you'll get out of here?" AJ asked.

"Soon hopefully." Punk groaned, "Fucking hate hospitals." He huffed like a child.

"Well… your fiance will be waiting to take care of you when you do." AJ smiled as Punk looked down at her.

"You really want to get married, don't you?" He smiled, never thinking she'd be so fond of the idea. He'd never really taken her for the type to want to get married.

"I didn't think I did until I seen the ring. I feel wanted. I feel loved. I don't want that feeling to go away and I know that… you'll always love me." She smiled, "I love the idea of being your wife." She said.

"I love the idea of you being my wife too." Punk smiled, "Let's not tell the guys just now though, keep it as a surprise for when I get out of here. I don't want to get congratulated on a hospital bed." Punk said as AJ nodded with a small chuckle.

"Ok." She agreed, "Things are finally over. Aren't they?" She looked up into his eyes, "We got through it all." She said.

"Everything is over, baby. Just me, you and our baby girl from now." Punk said, leaning down and pecking her on the lips sweetly.

"You done yet?" Dean knocked at the door loudly, both Punk and AJ chuckling to themselves.

"Just me, you, our baby girl and of course the three musketeers." Punk rolled his eyes, "Go let him in." He laughed as AJ smiled, getting off the bed, fixing herself and messy hair before removing the chair from the door handle, opening the door up and letting an impatient Dean in.

AJ was right. They did get through everything. Now they could just move on with this new life they desired and looked forward to having. A new life of marriage, babies and love. And maybe some guns, if needed…

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	38. Chapter 38

_6 months later…_

7 months had came and gone so quick that AJ felt like she had blinked and her stomach had increased nearly three times in size. She was a week away from her due date and was entering the uncomfortable stage of her pregnancy.

It was the greatest six months she could have hoped for. Punk had recovered very quickly and was out the hospital after a day of rest. She could tell he made sure every day he paid his full attention to AJ, never leaving her side, taking her out and treating her like a princess. Not that he didn't do that before everything had went down with Dom, but he just gave her so much attention. She adored it.

As soon as they told the guys that they were engaged, they didn't even seem surprised. Everyone was so happy for them, especially after everything they had went through. It was nice to see something good going on in their lives.

She began to enjoy her pregnancy after Punk got out of hospital and really treasured the moments of growing a tiny little human inside her. As much as sometimes it drove her insane, especially when the baby kicked or put her off certain foods she normally liked. Punk had been the most supportive fiance she could have ever asked for. He was there morning noon and night taking care of her. She knew he was already so attached to their baby girl already, and she wasn't even out yet.

AJ's attack felt like a lifetime away, and she never even thought about it anymore. She was completely over it. She wanted to look to the future and not the past, think about all the good things coming up in her life like getting married and having her first baby. She felt like she deserved this happiness after everything she had been put through.

They hadn't set a date yet for their wedding. They wanted to wait until their daughter was born. In fact, AJ's quote on quote words were, 'I don't want to get married when I'm fat.' To which Punk had to convince her she looked stunning and then shut her up with some sympathy sex which had occurred quite a lot in the past six months. Not that he was complaining.

He was terrified of getting married and becoming a father, well… mostly becoming a father. He was terrified he would fuck it up and be a horrible dad. While AJ slept at night he would be sitting up reading baby books. He had no idea you had to dip your elbow in a bath to check the temperature, or test the formula temperature on your wrist. It scared him how clueless he was. He was hoping he could just wing it and it would come naturally to him.

He was glad however that everything was moving forward. He for one thought that everything AJ had been through had made not only her stronger but their relationship. He was glad that they had moved on and were looking towards building a small little family together.

"Do you know that if a baby has a rash, you should put a cold glass against it's back." Punk told AJ, watching her enter the living room with a glass of water and sandwich.

"What's that? Page ninety eight? Chapter 6? I read that two months ago." She told him, sitting down on the couch beside him as he rolled his eyes at her immature behaviour.

"I like to take my time reading thank you very much." He told her, his eyes going back to the book.

"No. You just get distracted by the TV every time you pick the book up." AJ told him, which was the truth, biting into her sandwich. They were amateurs at this. They'd never done anything like this and no one could prepare them for it.

"Never wake a sleeping baby." Punk told her like it was news to her, "So like… if they're sleeping, you can't touch them." Punk looked around in confusion, not seeing how that made sense.

AJ reached for the glass of water on the coffee table, "You can touch them, just don't wake them." AJ said, "But that's just common sense. Why would you wake something that is going to start screaming and crying when you do." AJ said, taking a drink of her water and sitting back up against him on the couch, leaning into him as she enjoyed her sandwich.

"So she has to be fed during the night?" Punk asked AJ.

"Yup." AJ nodded, "And because I'll be so tired from giving birth the first few nights, you're on duty." She told him, "Hopefully she'll be one of those baby's that sleep right through." AJ said. If there was one thing her and Punk loved, it was sleep, and having a baby was definitely going to cause some stroppy moods when they were woken up.

"So what? You just have to give birth to her and then I'm left to run on like… one hours sleep every night." Punk said.

"Just give birth to her?" AJ sat up and looked at him in the eye.

Punk realised how that sounded immediately, "I realise how bad that sounds. I apologise. Women are great people. Women are the greatest. You are the greatest. Please, don't hit me." Punk said as AJ chuckled.

"Do you think Dean, Seth and Roman will be allowed in the delivery room?" AJ asked Punk curiously.

"Why would you want them there?" Punk asked her like she was insane.

"I don't know. I just feel like it's something everyone should witness." She told him.

"Yeah, you won't be saying that when she's coming. You won't even want me there. In fact, you're going to hate me." Punk said, like usual, dropping the baby book and getting distracted, like every night.

"Why would I hate you?" AJ shook her head.

"Because you're going to look to put fault on somebody… I was the one who got you knocked up." Punk said, feeling her hit him with a cushion as they both laughed.

The more and more the days went by, the more and more things were getting serious. The nursery was ready, AJ's hospital bag was ready and in the car, the guys were on speed dial. It was nerve wracking in some level, but it was also so exciting.

"In fact… if you don't tell me it's my fault that you're in so much pain, I will get up with her every single night for the first six months of her life." Punk put his hand out.

"Oh, it's on." AJ shook his hand with a smile.

_One Week Later…_

"This is all your fault!" AJ screamed at Punk who smiled smugly, not at his fiance's pain but at his predicting deal he had with her.

"I know it is. You can punch me later. Just keep doing what you're doing, yeah." Punk stroked his fingertips through her sweaty hair, watching her puff on the gas and air like no tomorrow, gurning every few seconds with the tight and gut wrenching pain she was feeling.

They both turned around when the door opened, exposing Dean who was holding a 'it's a girl' balloon, Renee, Roman and Seth, all piling into the small room as the midwives glanced at each other unhappy with the crowded atmosphere.

"So when is she here?" Seth rubbed his hands together.

"When my uterus decides, ok." AJ snapped at her friend who put his hands up, "I'm sorry." AJ apologised immediately.

"There shouldn't be this many people in the room." The midwife exclaimed, "April needs to stay calm and focus on her breathing." She said.

"Ok ok." Dean tutted at the midwife, "We're going." He said. With that they all wished their good lucks to AJ, and to Punk, and left out of the delivery room to go wait in the waiting room.

"Ok, April. You're nearly there." The midwife checked how many centimetres she was dilated, walking over across to the room to get prepared for delivery.

"I love you so much." Punk told her, massaging her head with his hands buried deep in her hair, laying a kiss on her lips.

"I love you too." AJ moaned with a small smile.

It felt so surreal to be here finally having her baby. It felt like just yesterday she found out in the bathroom in their room, terrified of whose baby it was she was carrying, only to find out it was her boyfriends. This baby was the only thing that kept her going through things, her and Punk of course. She couldn't wait to finally meet her and see the little beauty she had created.

It actually wasn't a long procedure, as soon as she got the first few pushes out of the way, crushing Punks hand in her own while she done so, the baby just seemed to make it's own way out into the world. Letting out the most ear fulfilling screams ever, angels singing to AJ.

The baby girl was placed on her chest and even though still bloody and mucus, she was the most prettiest little thing AJ had ever seen, she tried her hardest not to cry but it was impossible.

Punk had never felt so overjoyed in his life. He'd never felt so happy and proud than he did at this moment. He was a father. His daughter was here and although she was very noisy and bloody for that matter, she was the most precious, beautiful thing he had ever seen, alongside her mother.

"She's beautiful." AJ gasped as the midwife scooped her up into her arms, turning the baby girl to face AJ and Punk.

Punk kissed AJ's head as he stared at the gorgeous little girl before his eyes. She was like a little flower. He couldn't find words to explain how he was feeling at this perfect moment.

"I'll go get her cleaned up." The midwife smiled, "She's perfect."

"She is." AJ agreed, "She's perfect." She looked up at Punk who nodded with a smile.

"I am so… so proud of you." Punk smiled, leaning down and kissing his fiance on the lips, having never been prouder of her. Not just for having their baby girl, but for everything she had overcome in the past year. She was so strong, stronger than he would ever be.

"Here we are…" The midwife approached back over to the newly parents, the little baby girl all cleaned up, her skin so soft and smooth like a little peach, wrapped in a light pink blanket.

AJ took her daughter in her arms, smiling as a tear rolled down her cheek, taken away by the beauty of the small little thing.

Punk couldn't believe he had made something so stunning. She was like a little wrapped up angel. His love for her was already as strong as it could be.

"Do we have a name for her yet?" The midwife asked curiously.

"No." AJ shook her head, looking up, "Not yet." AJ said, not having thought of a name yet, turning her head back down to her daughter, Punk watching over her shoulder with awe and amazement.

"We'll just call her baby girl Brooks." The midwife smiled, leaving the couple alone to soak in the beauty of their new born baby.

"I love her." AJ cried, but with a smile on her face, watching her daughter as she made an O shape with her mouth, wriggling her little arms and legs in the blanket, her eyes opening wide as she seen the most perfect, identical eyes to Punk ever.

"I love her too." Punk smiled, leaning over AJ and kissing his daughters head, so soft and smooth. It was this moment right here that made everything they went through worth it, to have something so precious and beautiful in their arms.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**Feel free to suggest some names for baby girl Brooks. Thanks for all the REVIEWS and support. I really appreciate it. Thank you!**


	39. Chapter 39

"She's beautiful." Came from Seth as everyone had piled into the room a few hours after AJ had her. Seth was currently holding her, but everyone was staring at her. She was so tiny and precious. In their world of guns and bombs, they weren't used to such cuteness.

AJ was fast asleep in bed, completely exhausted from her day of giving birth, resting easy now that she knew her baby girl was safely out. The baby was also sleeping as she was passed from friend to friend and then finally back to her father.

"Got a name yet?" Roman asked Punk, all of them using hushed voices, not only for the baby but for AJ too.

"Wait… I thought you were going with Deanette." Dean put his hand out in confusion as Punk just shook his head at his crazy friend, staring down at his daughter with a smile.

"No, Dean." Punk shook his head with a faint laugh, "We decided to call her Paiten." Punk smiled to them, having sat with AJ for at least an hour after the baby was born, running through so many names, not wanting to go with anything original.

"Paiten." Seth said to himself, enjoying the nice ring to the name, "I like it." He announced.

"Listen, when we go home tomorrow, I want to have a little surprise welcome home thing." Punk told them, laying Paiten down in the bassinet beside where her mother slept.

"With just the six of us?" Roman asked with confusion.

"Well, I don't know, invite my brother or something." Punk shrugged, "Go to my house tonight and blow up balloons, put up banners and shit. Yeah?" Punk said, looking at all three boys stare blankly at him, "Renee?" He turned to.

"I'll make sure it's done." Renee nodded.

"Thank you." Punk smiled, "I want this to be the beginning of something, you know. I want this to be a new chapter for us. All of us. I don't want to look back at the past." He told them.

"Sometimes it's good to look back at the past." Dean said, "Shows you how far you've come." He patted Punk on the back who for once listened to what Dean was saying, "We better shoot off, got a lot of balloons to be blowing up." The blonde haired man said as they all said their goodbyes and left the room.

Punk took a seat at AJ's bedside and stared at both of his girls sleeping. He couldn't decide who was more perfect. They both were the two most important girls in his life. He vowed he would never let anything or anyone hurt them. He had vowed not to let anything or anyone hurt AJ since the day he met her, but now this new little sunshine of life was here, she was in on the promise too.

AJ began to stir around in bed, opening her eyes slowly and looking around the room, turning her head to see Punk sitting with a tired smile on his face.

"Did you have a good sleep?" He asked her, watching as she shifted about, looking rather uncomfortable.

"I don't feel very well." She told him, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

"You look a bit white." He admitted, watching her roll her head back on the pillow.

"Where did the guys go?" AJ asked, her eyes hazy and her voice become slow and slurred.

"AJ… are you alright?" He asked her, his eyes catching on to the red crimson liquid dripping from the side of the bed. He stood up immediately and slowly pulled the covers back.

"Jesus christ." He muttered as he stared at the full patch of blood where AJ was lying, he knew it wasn't just a little discharge, she must have been bleeding for at least an hour or more.

He ran out of them room to get help from someone, anyone, nurses and doctors coming through the door, the look on their faces scaring him.

"Why is she bleeding? What's wrong with her?" Punk asked.

"These things happen." A nurse said in the rush of everything, "I'm going to need you to stand outside."

Punk walked outside as he was told, letting the doctors and nurses do what they done best, watching as Paiten was taken out of the room too by a midwife. He knew that it wasn't just a speck of blood that AJ had lost, it was a full pool of it. It made sense that she felt dizzy and was pale as a ghost. He just hoped that the nurses and doctors could do something for her quickly. He wasn't going to lose her now, not when they had finally got to the place they wanted to be. He couldn't lose her now when their daughter needed her.

He sat outside the room for hours, running his hands through his hair, standing up and pacing the corridor out of worry. He should have heard something by now, even someone just telling him that she was stable would be enough for him. He just needed to know what was going on.

He stood up immediately when he seen a doctor approach him, "Can we take a walk?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, beginning to walk down the corridor with the doctor, "Is she ok?" He asked immediately.

"She's stable for now. Sometimes, after birth, these things just happen. We don't know how. She may have nicked herself during the birth, or she possibly hasn't been stitched up right. She did lose a considerable amount of blood and because of that…" The doctor paused, taking her glasses off and looking at Punk across from her, "I'm sorry sir, your girlfriend has went into a coma."

"What?" Punk shook his head, "But she was fine." He said with so much confusion.

"We stopped the bleeding eventually, but she had lost too much. If you hadn't noticed and called for someone, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to save her. She is lucky you were there." The doctor said, watching Punk just stare at her in shock.

"So she's just… gone to sleep. I can't speak to her or see her?" He asked, a lump in his throat.

"You can speak to her and see her, she just won't respond. In fact, I would encourage you to talk to her, she physically may not hear you, but her brain will." The doctor said.

"How can she just go in a coma? She was fine." Punk said, so confused and heartbroken. The thought of AJ not being able to go home with Paiten or be with her on her first night home. It was horrible. It couldn't have got worse.

"Like I said, a lot of things could have triggered the blood loss and sometimes we just can't get to the bottom of it. Until she wakes up we'll have to keep her here for obvious reasons, but you are welcomed to visit anytime." The doctor said.

"When will she wake up?" Punk asked her.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you a straight answer. It's up to April to wake up now." The doctor said.

"So you can't tell me why she's in a coma and you can't tell me when she'll wake up?" Punk said with anger, "What exactly can you tell me?"

"I know you're angry. I would be too. Just carry on the way you normally would. Take your daughter home and look after her, it may feel like the days are years, but she will wake up." The doctor said.

"Could she wake tomorrow?" Punk asked.

"She could." The doctor nodded positively, "But she could also wake in a few months." She said, being very blunt with the man.

Punk ran his hands through his hair and sighed. Why couldn't, just for once, things go right. Why did everything have to fuck up for him and AJ. Why did she always have to suffer the pain while he had to deal with watching her in pain. He hated this. He had gone from being on top of the world, the proudest father and boyfriend ever, to deflating back to what he felt like when she was raped. Helpless and useless.

"Thank you." Punk nodded to the doctor, knowing he couldn't be too hasty, they did just save her.

The doctor nodded and walked off, leaving Punk stumbling back to the room AJ was in, walking into the room, hunched over with no emotion, staring across at her. Her sheets had been changed as well as the hospital gown she was wearing. She looked like sleeping beauty. Was it worth a shot to kiss her and hope for her to wake up like they awful disney movies that he was sure his daughter would take mild interest in.

He stood at the bottom of the bed, watching her as she slept. She didn't look in pain, which was a good thing. He couldn't take care of the baby without her, they were supposed to take her home together, as a family, to start this new journey together, but yet again, something had gone wrong and here he was, standing helpless in front of her, nothing he could do that would wake her up.

"I'm going to be in here every day." Punk told her, walking around the side, "I'm never going to leave you. You have to… you have to wake up, so you can see Paiten, watch her sleep in our home for the first time, feed her her first bottle… you can't leave now." Punk said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Please wake up soon." He begged, a tear rolling down his cheek as he looked down at her, leaning forward and pressing his lips against her own lifeless ones, feeling strange that she hadn't kissed back.

He needed her, now more than ever. She had to wake up, she couldn't leave him now, not when they had so much things to look forward to. She was needed by him and little Paiten, she couldn't miss the first few weeks of her daughters life. She just couldn't.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	40. Chapter 40

Punk stayed by AJ's side the full night, watching her as she stayed still the full night, not even so much as turning on her side, or moving her hand, twitching her nose. She was still as still could be. He was praying for a miracle here. Hoping that she would wake up soon. Their daughter was only a day old, she needed her mother now more than ever.

He didn't think he could take anymore of this. Just when he thought their relationship, their life, was heading in the right direction, something came up yet again, putting AJ in pain while he sat and watched helplessly. He didn't know how long he could go on like this. He felt himself crumbling apart on the inside, trying not to show it on the outside.

"Did you stay here the full night?" A nurse asked Punk, checking the monitor AJ was wired to, monitoring her blood pressure and heart rate. Just making sure everything was ok.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, running his hands over his face, completely exhausted but not complaining. AJ needed him here, he couldn't leave her alone in this cold place.

"She's lucky to have you." The nurse smiled over to Punk, "Your daughter is in the nursery unit down the hall, you can take her home today." She said, hoping that would give him some happiness. But Punk just nodded.

How could he possibly be happy about taking his daughter home by himself. They were meant to go home as a family, introduce their daughter to her new home. He was terrified of doing this alone for the time being.

He supposed he shouldn't have waited around too long. He took the car seat that sat in the room that they had brought when AJ went into labour, carrying it empty in his hand as he walked down the hall, coming across the unit with all the babies, watching couples come and go with their newborns. Such large smiles on their faces. That was meant to be him and AJ.

"Can I help you, sir?" A midwife in charge of the unit asked with a smile.

"Yeah… I'm taking my daughter home." Punk told the midwife, "Brooks. Paiten Brooks." Punk stated as the midwife nodded, wondering away into the room, lifting up little Paiten from the bassinet and approaching her father with her.

"She slept all the way through last night." The midwife smiled as Punk took Paiten into his arms, her little head resting on his chest as her eyes continued to stay closed, "She's a sleepy little lady." The middle aged midwife said with a cheery smile as Punk forced a smile back, laying Paiten down into the car seat, strapping her in, tucking a pink blanket over her little body, an item him and AJ also brought into the hospital when AJ went into labour.

_Later on…_

After getting Paiten settled into her car seat, Punk said his goodbyes to a non respondent AJ, kissing her lifeless body and leaving the hospital with his daughter, vowing to be back bright and early the next morning to see her, even if she wasn't full of much conversation. He dreaded going into the house and telling everyone about AJ. He felt like all he done was give them bad news. They'd all probably went to a lot of trouble to put up banners and blow balloons up, only for him to turn round and tell them he wasn't in the mood because his fiance was half dead.

He got out of the parked car, opening the back door and lifting Paiten's car seat out, to his surprise where she was still sleeping in. She really was a sleepy little lady.

His eyes felt like they weighed a stone each and he was in desperate need of a lie down. He just wanted to forget about this horrible situation he had found himself in yet again, where he couldn't do anything to help AJ or make her feel better. It was too late for that. He wondered if he maybe seen the blood quicker that she wouldn't have gone into a coma, but she had and now he was left alone to fend for their daughter in this crucial part of her life.

He opened the front door to his house, walking in and shutting it behind him, walking through past the kitchen and into the living room where everyone sat. Banners, balloons and presents everywhere. Of course his friends were there along with Renee, his brother was there with Sarah and Zack who was trying to bite the pink balloons, a few other of their friends from the department were also there.

"Hey, where's AJ?" Dean asked, staring across at Punk, everyone turning around to look at him.

"She's in a coma." Punk said bluntly, turning away and heading for the stairs, walking up them with exhaustion and no energy whatsoever.

Everyone sat downstairs, glancing at one another with confusion, talking amongst themselves as to what was going on and what on earth Punk was talking about. They had all just seen AJ yesterday after she had given birth, she was perfectly fine. She was talking and smiling and laughing like normal. There was no way she could have went into a coma. Dean had to go check things out.

Meanwhile Punk had taken Paiten into her room, the light pink walls crushing his manliness along with the pink little teddies and blankets, the room was legitimately fit for a princess.

"That's a girl…" Punk lifted Paiten from her car seat, holding her close to his chest as he kissed her soft, sweet little head, listening to her soft, whispery breaths in his ear.

Punk lay her gently down in her crib, staring at her beauty as he done so, laying the blanket over her tiny little body, pressing a gentle kiss on her soft forehead, "You just shout me if you need anything, ok?" He smiled down at her peaceful and silent little figure, trailing himself out of her room, leaving a small night light on in the room but switching the main light off, closing the door over, leaving a gap in the door so he could still hear her if she did cry for him.

On his way out of his daughter's room, completing his first task which was supposed to be done with AJ, he bumped into Dean in the hallway, his face full of confusion and want of answers.

"What?" Punk looked at him.

"Well… are you going to come talk to everyone instead of giving us a simple answer and going to bed." Dean said.

"There's nothing to talk about. AJ is in a coma, I don't know when she's going to wake. That's all I can tell you." Punk shrugged.

"How did she go into a coma? She was perfectly fine when we were there." Dean shook his head, folding his arms as Punk ran his hands through his hair.

"When she was sleeping, she was bleeding the full time. She'd lost so much blood, her body went into shock and then went into a coma. It was just after you guys left." Punk told Dean, "I've been awake for over twenty four hours, I need to sleep while Paiten is." Punk said, already dreading doing all of this by himself.

"Me and Renee can stay and help out with her, we all can." Dean told Punk, watching his tired friend shake his head.

"No. She's my daughter. My responsibility. I'll be fine. Just apologise to everyone on behalf of me. I don't really feel like talking to anyone." Punk said.

"I will. You get some sleep then." Dean said, watching as Punk's eyes were beginning to shut as he was standing up, afraid that his friend was going to pass out if he didn't lie down soon, not only that, but the worry and stress he assumed Punk had wouldn't have been helping his health.

Punk thanked Dean and walked across to his bedroom, shutting the door over and collapsing on top of the bed, not even having the effort to get inside the covers or strip his clothes off, completely passed out on top of the bed, his eyes shutting right away, drifting off to sleep to where he wasn't alone or felt worried for his fiance.

* * *

It hadn't even been an hour that Punk had been sleeping for when he was woke up with light little shrieks from across the hall. He lifted his head, still in the same position he crashed out on, feeling like he had only slept for five minutes. He stood up with jelly like legs, the house in silent as he assumed everyone had left, which he did feel bad, but there was really no reason to celebrate without AJ being here. He hoped everyone understood.

He stumbled across the hall and into Paiten's room, scooping her up into his arms as she whaled painfully in his ears, "What's this all about? Huh?" Punk bounced her ever so lightly in his arms, "Are you hungry? Huh? Will daddy go make you a bottle?" He said, exiting the room with his whiney daughter in his arms, tiptoeing downstairs, laying Paiten down in the middle of the floor in the living room, of course putting a blanket down first for her to lie on.

"I'll just be a minute." Punk spoke to her as she continued to scream down the house, not helping Punks lack of sleep problem.

He walked into the kitchen and took the formula out of the cupboard along with a fresh out the packet bottle, reading the instructions on the back of the powdered contents.

After having the bottle too warm, and then too cold, he finally executed it properly, third time lucky, checking it on his wrist for the perfect temperature, setting out back into the living room to satisfy his daughter with the bottle.

All he could think about was how AJ should have been here, sitting beside him as he fed their daughter. But instead she was lying in a hospital bed, oblivious to the world, unconscious completely and for how long, he was yet to find out.

"Take it easy with me, yeah?" Punk spoke to Paiten, "I'm new with this and without your mother, I'm hopeless." Punk admitted, looking down at Paiten gulping down the bottle.

She finally finished it after a few spills and spit ups and was soon enough ready to be changed to which Punk sat staring at the diaper for around fifteen minutes before actually attempting to put it on her. It was a lot more difficult than it looked, in his opinion anyway.

He was fairly proud of what he had achieved in just an hour, with still just an hours sleep. He'd fed his daughter, changed her, and was now sitting on the edge of his own bed winding her, rubbing her back in circular motions, his eyes hanging low, hoping she would settle back to sleep so he could too.

He just couldn't believe this was happening. He just wondered why him or AJ could never get that happy, family moment they desired. Something had to always come in the way and spoil a perfectly great moment. He missed her so much already. At least when she was raped he could still talk to her and hug her while she hugged back. It felt like she wasn't even here anymore. He was never a guy to pray, but he was praying. He was praying for her to be ok, for her to wake up soon and get on with being the mother Paiten needed her to be.

Paiten finally fell asleep after getting a whole load of attention from her father, being put back into her little crib in her room, giving her father another opportunity to lay down and catch some more z's.

But Punk just couldn't fall back asleep this time. He had this longing to forget, to black out and forget about this situation he was in. This horrible, unfair situation he was in. He wanted to just blank out on the couch with a empty glass bottle in his hand, as much as he was ashamed to say. He couldn't deny himself, he was craving it, he wanted to feel it burn down his throat, down his esophagus and then hit him straight in the head. He was done dealing with so much shit. He thought things were going in the right direction. They had such a great, peaceful six months before the baby was born. They enjoyed going out, he enjoyed spoiling his fiance, talking about their wedding and their new baby girl. But yet again, he was left feeling alone, like he'd lost her for the second time. He just wanted to forget about everything for the night, completely blank out on sofa. No one had to know. Paiten would be fast asleep. He could be left to just drown in his bottle and numb every painful part of his heart.

He looked at his car keys on the nightstand beside his bed, tapping his fingers on the edge of the bed, fighting with the wise part of himself and the weak part of himself, wondering what side would win, betting on the weak part.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	41. Chapter 41

"We're going… for a little car ride. You just stay sleeping, baby girl." Punk soothed Paiten into her car seat in the back of the car, strapping his daughter in safely and getting into the front seat to start the car. His mind wasn't where it usually was and all he wanted was to feel nothing.

No one needed to know about this moment of weakness. They didn't know how it felt to feel so alone and helpless, yet again. There was no painkiller that could help him, he needed a bottle of something, anything, as long as it was strong and blanked him out from the world for just a few hours.

He pulled up to the twenty four hour supermarket, taking Paiten out and into his arms as he set foot into the empty supermarket. He did feel some guilt, especially when his daughter needed him to stay strong for her, but he was just so tired, so lonely and beside himself. He needed some sort of relief.

He held Paiten in his arms as he picked up a bottle of liquor, vaguely reading the name, holding it in his hand as he began to walk away from alcohol aisle, pausing and turning back.

What harm did two bottles do? He thought, with that, picking up another bottle of poison, heading to the checkout as the cashier looked at him and then to Paiten.

"What?" Punk snapped at her, "Never had a drink before?" He looked at the woman who seemed to be annoyed by his buying of alcohol so late with an obvious newborn in his arms.

He finally paid for the two bottles and was on his way back to the car. He did feel extremely embarrassed and ashamed of himself for yet again giving up his straight edge lifestyle, but he liked to think it was for a good enough reason. He'd love to see any man react calm and strong when the woman they loved was completely out of it for god knows how long.

He was eventually back home in no time with Paiten asleep in her room, taking a long time to soothe her and tell her how much he loved her. Regardless of how he was feeling, he knew he still had to take care of his daughter, he would never abandon or leave her, never.

It didn't take him very long to dispose of the first bottle, feeling every drop burn down his throat, the blood rushing to his head immediately as he was still running on one hours sleep.

He was a mess without AJ, a walking, breathing mess. Knowing she was asleep and wouldn't wake up until possibly months was killing him. He longed to hear her voice, see her smile, hear her adorable laugh, hug her and be hugged back. He couldn't keep up with being strong anymore, he had to give in, no matter how extreme it would get, no matter how addicting it may be, it helped him forget about life and how cruel it was at the moment.

_With Dean and Renee…_

"I'm worried about Punk." Dean scratched the back of his head, sitting across from Renee in his kitchen at the table, watching as she brushed her blonde hair away from her face.

"Maybe you should go check on him. Take Seth with you, try cheer him up. He'll be lonely." Renee said with thought, watching Dean lean back on the chair and sigh.

"He's going to break one of these days. I can see it." Dean said with sadness. He hated to see all of these bad things pile onto his friends, especially now that little Paiten was here and needed both her parents.

"He won't. He can't, he needs to look after Paiten now, she'll keep his head up." Renee expected as Dean just shook his head.

"I don't know." Dean said without confidence in Renee's word.

"Well go see him then, I'll still be here when you get back. Go keep him company." Renee stood up, putting her empty mug of coffee in the sink, walking out of the kitchen, planting a kiss on Dean's head as she walked past him.

Dean didn't know if now was a good time to bother Punk, he was probably still sleeping no doubt, but he was worried about him. Everything was going so well for him and AJ, leading up to the last few months before AJ went into labour, he finally felt like he had his two best friends back, but now everything came crashing down again and Punk was left feeling useless while AJ was unconscious and oblivious to absolutely everything. He had to go see Punk, maybe there was something he could do.

* * *

Dean had got a hold of Seth as Roman was out of town for the weekend, having left earlier in the day just after the failed welcome home party had ended. Seth was as equally worried about Punk as Dean was and thought it was a good idea too that they checked on their lonely friend.

They used Dean's spare key and unlocked the door to Punks house, walking in and closing the door behind them, quietly walking past the kitchen and round into the living room, watching as Punk stood up from the couch in a stumble, taking his gun out and pointing it at them.

"Woah…" Dean put his hands up, "Dude, it's us. Put the gun down." He immplied as Punk chuckled, throwing the gun down.

"You two… scared the shit out of me." Punk slurred, his pupils huge and his balance all over the place, barely being able to stand up.

Dean ran his hands over his face frustratedly as he spotted an empty bottle of booze lying on the carpet, along with a half empty bottle sitting on the coffee table.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Seth asked, "You don't drink." He shook his head with confusion.

"I do…" Punk smiled, pointing his finger at Seth, poking his friends chest and smiling to him, "I do now." He slurred.

"Where the fuck is Paiten?" Dean asked Punk, asking the serious questions first.

"Paiten… god, she's so beautiful…" Punk put his hand on Dean's shoulder, "Isn't she?" He hazed his eyes at Dean.

"Yeah, she is. And she's also only one day old. You can't drink when you're looking after her. In fact…" Dean snatched the bottle of the coffee table, "You can't drink at all. This isn't you. There's more to you than this." Dean spat.

"Hey…" Punk snatched the bottle back from Dean with force, collapsing back down on the couch, "Why are you two…" He looked up at them to try and remember who was even in his house, his mind like spaghetti, "Why are you two even here?" He looked from Dean to Seth.

"To check on you." Seth said, "And a good job we did." The two toned hair man said, completely shocked by Punks actions, never having witnessed him drunk before. Something about Seth was scared of Punk while he was drunk, it was like a completely different person sitting in front of them, not a good person.

"Well… I'm fine." Punk said, taking another swig from the bottle of booze, "You know who isn't fine though… AJ. April, my girl, my baby girl's mom. Rape is disgusting." Punk popped out with as Dean and Seth just glanced at one another.

"Punk, you're drunk. Just go to bed, we'll stay down here until you sleep it off." Dean sighed, like Seth, he was a little put off by Punk's drunken character.

"Rape. My girlfriend was raped. She was pulled down an alley and fucked… and there was nothing she could do about it." Punk reflected, using extremely horrifying but true terms, knowing he was sober he wouldn't have said it the way he was.

"Stop talking." Seth looked at his friend.

"I'm sorry." Punk looked up at Seth, standing up, nearly falling over in the process, "Am I making you uncomfortable?" He looked into Seth's hazelnut eyes.

"Yeah. You are." Seth nodded, "Sit down and shut up. I'm going to get you a coffee." Seth said, wandering away and into the kitchen, leaving Dean to deal with Punk.

"He doesn't get it. He's lonely. He… has no girlfriend." Punk turned to Dean, "You do… you get me." Punk walked towards Dean, getting a little too close for comfort.

Dean could smell the booze on Punks breath, he could barely stand up straight or construct a proper sentence.

"You will end up lonely, permanently. What if AJ seen you like this, man? She'd be terrified." Dean said.

"Well… Deano, AJ isn't going to see me like this. I'll stop drinking when she's out of the coma. I promise." Punk smiled with blurry eyesight, poking Dean on the chest and missing.

"And what about Paiten? Punk, jesus christ… don't make me take her from you." Dean said, at this rate, taking Paiten from Punk looked like it was the best idea. He was in no position to look after her, he couldn't even look after himself.

"Hey, you don't touch my daughter. No one… touches my daughter. She needs me." Punk told Dean with a straight face, going back to swigging on the bottle of alcohol.

"She'll get put into care if someone finds out you're drinking like this. How do you think AJ would feel? Coming out of her coma after months, realising her daughter got put into care because her boyfriend couldn't keep his self control." Dean said, jumping as he felt Punk slam him against the wall. He dropped the booze, spilling it all over the floor and pushing Dean up as he held him by the neck of his t-shirt.

"Don't you talk to me about self control, Dean Ambrose. You're the one that had the alcohol problems and the drug addictions, not me." Punk spat, never in his life imagining saying that to one of his best friends, especially when he knew how strong Dean had been to leave that world of his behind him.

Dean pushed Punk off him, looking across at him, completely crushed by that comment. He was on his own from now on, he was done trying to help and be the good guy, if Punk wanted to piss his life away as well as his daughters, then he could for all he cared, he just prayed that AJ would wake up soon and see what Punk was becoming of.

Dean pushed by Punk as well as Seth who was on his way with a large mug of coffee.

"Where are you going?" Seth asked Dean.

"Away from him. You deal with him." Dean growled, heading for the front door and walking out, slamming it shut behind him as he began to head home, wishing he never even bothered with Punk. He knew it wasn't the real him speaking, but it still hurt to hear it come from him.

"Bye then." Punk raised his eyebrows with a dramatic sigh, having forgotten what he even said to Dean already, "Oh, fucking hell." Punk looked at the spilled bottle of alcohol on the carpet, realising he had none left.

"Sit down, man. Drink this." Seth came into the living room, sitting the coffee down on the coffee table, watching Punk collapse onto the couch, his head falling back as he done so.

Seth sat the coffee down and turned round to see Punk out cold, loud snores coming from him. It was awful to see Punk like this, it was completely out of his character and nature. The alcohol turned him into a spiteful person, he assumed he had got that from his father, although he would never say that to Punk.

He just hoped this was a one off and he could pull himself together for little Paiten. She couldn't afford to lose her dad as well as her mom, not this early in her life.

He sat beside Punk on the couch as he slept, not leaving him in case he choked on his own sick or woke up again. He wasn't leaving the house until he was sober.

He knew Punk was hurting, they all were, but he couldn't keep this as a habit, he would only get addicted and addicted until he wouldn't be able to get himself out of the mess he was making. He couldn't give Paiten the same life he lived as a kid. He couldn't be that drunk father he dreaded he would be one day.

Seth hoped he pulled it together, for AJ's sake too. She would be expecting Punk to look after their daughter and keep strong, not going off on a alcohol bender, pushing all his friends away and not looking after their daughter properly. He hoped he would realise in the morning how toxic alcohol really is, and that it may have helped the pain, but it was only making matters worse. He also wondered what Punk had said to Dean to make him storm out like that.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	42. Chapter 42

Punk woke up the next morning, feeling like his head was bouncing off the walls, a constant pounding in it. He couldn't remember anything about last night, in fact, he nearly jumped out his skin when he turned on the couch to see Seth sitting beside him.

"What are you doing here?" Punk asked Seth with confusion.

The only thing Punk could remember was the first few sips from the bottle of booze he was drinking, then everything became messy, he wasn't aware of how drunk he had really gotten.

"Paiten has cried three times this morning." Seth looked at Punk with disappointment, "But not to worry, you just sit back… I fed her." Seth said. How could he possibly trust Punk to look after this tiny little baby, when he was a wreck. Maybe Dean was right, maybe taking Paiten from Punk would be for the best, until AJ woke up at least.

"I… I never heard her." Punk said with honesty, "I normally hear her." Punk said, having recalled being woke yesterday by her cries, feeling disgusted by himself that he hadn't heard his own daughter's cries for him.

"That's because you were in an unconscious sleep from all the booze you drank last night." Seth said, "Dude, you were completely out of your face, you couldn't even stand up straight." Seth shook his head, not wanting to yell or scream at Punk, just telling him what had to be said, hoping it was enough for Punk to wake up and realise he had priorities and responsibilities now, whether AJ was here or not.

"I couldn't stop myself." Punk said, leaning forward on the couch, running his hands through his hair, "I… I just wanted more, and more." He recalled with embarrassment.

"You gotta stop this. You can't turn to alcohol everytime something goes wrong in your life, you'll only get addicted. You should be taking comfort in Paiten, hugging her at night instead of empty glass bottle of alcohol." Seth looked at Punk.

"I can't… I can't look after her without AJ. I don't know what I'm doing. She needs her mom." Punk ran his hands over his face repeatedly, so much frustrations and weight on his shoulders.

"Of course you can. You're her dad. Remember how desperate you were to be her father? Well, she's finally here now, now is your chance. AJ will be out in no time, she'll wake up soon, I can feel it." Seth told Punk.

"Soon isn't months. Months without AJ is like a winter in Chicago without snow. Fucking impossible." Punk growled, "I'm fed up of things going wrong… the only thing that can help, the only thing that eases the pain, is the drink." Punk admitted.

"You gotta stop thinking that way. It's all in your mind." Seth said, looking at Punk, his eyes hanging low, his shoulders slumped as he hung over himself, not holding himself with confidence the way he normally done. His friend was completely done. Everything that kept getting thrown his way, he was done fighting them.

Seth spoke up with an idea, he was pretty sure Punk would decline through his stubbornness, but it was worth a shot, "Why don't I watch Paiten tonight. I know I'm not all clued up with baby's, but I know the basics. You can catch up on some sleep and get your shit together." Seth suggested, "It's ok to ask for help, you know." Seth reminded him.

"I don't want to burden you with my problems." Punk waved his hands.

"No… in fact, I'm not giving you a choice. She's coming to stay with her Uncle Seth until her dad sets his mind straight so he can look after her properly." Seth raised his eyebrows at Punk.

Punk just nodded, it was all he could do. He felt like such a failure of a father already. It had only been two days and someone was having to take a turn to watch Paiten. It wasn't exactly what he had planned.

"Ok." Punk nodded his head, "I'll go pack her a bag and fold up her crib for you." Punk said, standing up off the couch, his head thumping even more with pain. He hoped that tonight he could just stay clean, lie on the couch with a can of soda and watch some of AJ's horrible TV shows she had recorded on the DVR, he could always pretend she was here, cuddling into him.

"Oh and…" Seth began as Punk turned around, "Dean was with me last night but… I think you said something to him to set him off, he stormed out." Seth shrugged, doubting that Punk could remember what he said.

"What did I say?" Punk asked him.

"I don't know. I was coming back from the kitchen." Seth told Punk who just shrugged, turning back around and slowly walking upstairs to painfully pack his daughter away for the night. She was so beautiful and tiny, the thought of her getting taken off him because his friend feared he would drink again shamed him. He really needed to get his act together. He couldn't lose his daughter, she was too precious and sweet, the most important thing in his life, next to AJ. He knew she was in good hands with Seth however, and even he couldn't trust himself to look after her properly. He was lucky Seth was here this morning to hear her cry out, or else he wouldn't have heard her.

"You're going to go stay with Uncle Seth tonight." Punk spoke to his daughter as he dressed her for the day, her tiny little body laying on the changing mat, her beady little green eyes staring up at him. There was no doubt she knew this was her father, "Daddy needs to get himself together, because he misses mommy very much, and she can't be here right now." Punk explained like he was talking to an adult, expecting her to understand what she was saying. He popped the little onesie buttons all the way up to the top while he spoke, "I promise, daddy is going to look after you. Just not for tonight. Ok?" He looked down at her, "I love you very much." He announced the obvious, leaning down and pressing a kiss on her head as her little legs wriggled around.

He scooped the bundle that she was into his arms and headed downstairs, a bag with her things slung over his shoulder while he carried the light crib, all the while having her tucked into his chest.

It was hard to say goodbye, even if it was just for one night. He had became so attached to her already, but it was the right thing to do. He wasn't in a position to look after her properly, too much was on his mind and weighing him down.

_Later on…_

Punk tried his best to keep his hands to himself, by that means, off the alcohol, but it was like he was gagging for it. His hands and legs wouldn't stop shaking unless he was clutching the bottle in his hand. He tried to have some will power, he tried to have some control, to think of his daughter and fiance, but he just wanted no pain, to not feel alone or helpless. He wound up back in his vicious circle he was starting, already one bottle down, heading straight on to his second bought bottle.

He wasn't thinking of the consequences, he was only thinking of himself and how much he longed not to feel anything. He missed his fiance. He missed AJ so much. Nothing was the same without her here. At least when she was raped, she was still looking him in the eye with those brown eyes, or speaking to him with that voice he missed so much. No one could understand how upset and fed up he was. It seemed as though there was a black cloud forever over his and AJ's head, raining, then revealing some sun, teasing him with the life he wanted to have, then raining again, this time only it was raining, thunder and lightening.

He was meant to be being a good father, taking care of his baby girl and just wishing these next few months away that AJ would wake up, but for once in his life, just for one, he was choosing to be weak and pitiful.

For some reason, his drunken mind decided that it would be a good idea to go visit AJ. 11pm at night, out of his face completely. Of course it wasn't a good idea, but he was drunk, anything would be a good idea in his mind.

He stupidly drove all the way to the hospital, a bottle of straight vodka in the passengers seat beside him, wobbling all over the road as he drove to the hospital. He was oblivious to the sort of danger he really was putting himself in, but mesmerisingly made it all the way to the hospital without killing himself in the process.

He stood out of the car, bouncing off many vehicles as he stumbled through the parking lott, the bottle of toxic spirits in his hand as he sang to himself every song under the sun, his mind numb, his feelings paused, his emotions on hold as the alcohol coursed through his veins.

For being a hospital, they didn't have many security guards or receptionists. He managed to just walk straight through the doors and to the elevator, holding the bottle of alcohol in his sweater so no one saw it, although any normal human would have gathered that he was pretty drunk.

He managed to find AJ's room just fine, knowing exactly where he was heading, falling through the door and shutting it behind him, looking across at her still completely still, her eyes shut, her chest rising and falling softly. She did look pretty peaceful.

"Hey." Punk whispered, putting his finger to his lips as he tip toed over to her, his eyes hazy and uncontrolled, stumbling over as he walked towards his fiance, taking a collapsed seat beside her bedside.

"Paiten is great… she's great. She's a little… a little angel." Punk nodded to himself, finding it hard to construct sentences, "But… I need you…" He tapped her hand repeatedly, "I need you to wake up soon. I'm… falling apart." Punk slurred, with that, taking another gulp from the bottle he was swinging in his hand, feeling the spirit burn him all the way down his throat.

"I'm getting addicted to this… this stuff, and… here's the thing…" Punk poked her arm, "I don't want to stop." He admitted, "I need… I need help." His eyes fluttered opened and closed.

He was so frustrated that AJ couldn't hear him or see him or reply back to him. It was like talking to a brick wall. It was the horriblest thing he'd had to do. There wasn't ever a time where he needed her so much, as well as their newborn daughter.

"You gotta wake up…" Punk fell on to his knees, tossing the bottle aside and burying his head into the sheet at the edge of the bed beside AJ's sleeping body. He was falling apart. He didn't know what to do anymore. He needed AJ to wake up, he longed to feel her again. If she didn't wake up soon, he was afraid he would end up taking up drinking as a habit, it was becoming addicting and he hated it, but god it felt so good to not feel, although clearly… as he cried kneeling down at her bedside, he still felt everything.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	43. Chapter 43

Punk ended up spending his night in the hospital chair beside AJ's sleeping body, completely unconscious, not remembering anything again from the night before again, barely knowing he even got to the hospital and how he managed to get in whilst intoxicated. He woke up stinking of booze, his eyes nipping, bloodshot as ever, along with pale, cold skin.

He couldn't believe he had trailed himself to the hospital while drunk. He couldn't believe he had got drunk again. It was getting ridiculous.

"Sorry, sweetheart." Punk sighed, leaning over and kissing her head, brushing her hair from her face, knowing how disappointed in him she would be if she seen the state he had been in these past few nights. He just couldn't help it. It was killing him, living in this world with what seemed like without her.

He took the bottle of booze that was sitting on the floor, throwing it in the trash as he left the room, supposing he needed to go home and shower, shake off his hangover and go see his daughter.

As he was walking out of the hospital room, he seen a man sitting at the waiting area, holding his chest as he tried to bend down to pick some sort of letter from the floor. Punk wasn't a rude obnoxious guy, of course he was going to help the guy.

"Hey, you need some help man." Punk approached the older man, roundabout 50 years of age, his skin yellow, his eyes bloodshot, similar to his own at the moment.

The man watched as the young boy to him, bent down and picked the letter up from the floor, handing it to him with a small smile.

"Thanks." He smiled with a nod.

"You ok there?" Punk asked, seeing the man hold his chest, almost like he was having some sort of stroke or heart attack.

"Fine." The man nodded, reaching into his inside pocket of his coat, taking out a miniature flask and downing a gulp of what only Punk could assume alcohol, "I'm sorry…" The man said before closing the lid, "Want some." He held the flask up to Punk.

"I'm good." Punk waved his hand, "Are you a… heavy drinker?" Punk asked the guy, already knowing the answer to that question, watching the man chuckle.

"One of the reasons I'm in here." The man looked up at Punk, "I looked like you at one point believe it or not." The man chuckled, watching the young man sit down beside him, clasping his hands in front of him and turning to him.

"Why are you in here?" Punk asked, not really caring if he was poking his nose where it didn't belong, he was just interested in the elderly man who seemed to have a lot of humour for being an obvious alcoholic.

"Liver failure." The man looked at the tattoo'd boy sitting beside him, wondering why a young fella like him was bothering with him.

"Because of the drink?" Punk asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah." The man croaked, "You think you have it all." The man hissed and shook his head, looking down at the ground, "Got a wife?" He asked Punk.

"Nearly." Punk nodded, "Fiance. Well… she's in a coma." Punk pointed to the room across the waiting room.

"That's too bad." The man frowned, "Lost my wife to cancer. That's when the old drink took over." The man spat with venom against alcohol, although very much addicted to it.

"Have you ever tried to… get off it?" Punk asked.

"Oh, yeah. Plenty of times. Never happens." The moody old man shook his head, "You get addicted and lose everything. Lost my daughter as soon as I touched the goddamn bottles." The little man cursed.

Punk felt like he was staring at fifty year old him and it terrified him. He'd do anything to not turn out like this moody little man. To have nothing but alcohol to hold on to at night. It wasn't a life he wanted to live and he knew he was setting foot on the path down to the same life as this little man was living.

"Why you bothering with me anyway? Go take care of your girl. And stop picking up a bottle every time something gets hard…" The man looked at Punk who shook his head.

"How did you…" Punk shook his head.

"Why else would you be talking to me… I know those bloodshot eyes, you also riek of booze." The little man raised his eyebrows to Punk who just chuckled, looking down at the ground.

"Right." Punk realised, "Yeah… I don't want to end up like you." Punk admitted truthfully, hoping he didn't offend the little man.

"Keep drinking and you will. You're too young to throw your life away. Give yourself a shake, boy." The man hit Punk on the back with a thump, chuckling as Punk did too.

For a sour, bitter old git, the man had a sense of humour, and a decency of truth that Punk was beginning to see. He didn't want to end up in this way. Liver failures, Paiten restricted to speaking to him, AJ gone completely out of his life. It was a horrible picture that he would never like to live. He had to stop this, now. Before it was too late, like it was for this old man.

Punk stood up and nodded down to the smaller man, watching him take the small flask out again.

"Hey…" The old man said as Punk began to walk off, turning around when he was called back, "I didn't catch your name." The old man said.

"Phil." Punk walked back to the little man, watching him extend his bony hand.

"George." The old man smiled, shaking Punks hand, "Now get out here." George let go of Punks hand and watched as Punk chuckled, turning foot and heading down the hospital corridor.

Punk knew that that man was him in twenty years time if he continued to drink the way he was. He'd do anything to avoid going down the same road George had went down. In just a few minutes of conversation, he already knew what he had to do.

* * *

He had returned home, showered and collected Paiten all within a short hour. He avoided telling Seth about his second alcohol binge the previous night, not wanting an earful, his mind set in a different place now after seeing with his own eyes what his life could become.

He got so much joy in seeing Paiten's little face again, kissing her multiple times when he got home with her, never imagining that she could hate him. He wouldn't be his father, he wouldn't drink his kid to hate him.

"Look at that…" Punk opened the back door which lead to the back garden which was a complete mess, so much clutter lying around, probably the most untidiest back garden in all of Chicago, "Sun's got it's hat on today." Punk held Paiten close to his chest and pointed up to the sun as she just leaned into him, patting her little back soothingly.

His eyes travelled to the long grass, rusty and broken shed, along with broken plant pots and other messy equipment around the garden. A gigantic light bulb coming across his head as he thought of an idea.

"I've got an idea, Paiten." Punk spoke to his sleepy daughter in his arms, shutting the back door over and walking back into the living room, placing Paiten down in the middle of the living room on her little mat. He pulled the catalogue over beside him, flicking through the pages to the DIY section, writing down serial numbers to different items, his mind so focused on something for once that he didn't have time to think about alcohol or how much he missed AJ. He figured if he focused on something really hard, he would be able to fight the urge to drink, even if it was just clearing out his garden and starting from scratch to build it back up into something pretty. He knew AJ would love it.

_One Month Later…_

It had never been a quicker month, to Punks surprise. He had kept clean and never once felt tempted to go near any alcohol. He was really opened up to what he could end up turning out like if he went down the lonely road of alcoholism. He couldn't throw away his fiance and daughter just to drown in some rotten old poison. His family meant too much to him. It was painful without AJ, but with focusing his mind onto other things, it was making things a little easier to deal with, along with having Paiten to keep him going, never truly knowing that something so small could make him smile so much.

He'd completely pulled his garden apart and was half way through decorating it back up. He'd ordered a new shed, new plant pots, new garden furniture, a play swing for Paiten for when she got a little older. With the nice weather Chicago was getting, he was making the most of his time outside, t-shirt off, Paiten lying in her stroller with the hood over to protect her from the sun.

He had settled into some sort of fatherly routine. He'd wake up bright and early, shower and get Paiten up, feed her and get her ready for the day, head to the hospital to visit AJ. He would talk to AJ regardless of her eyes still shut and her body still unconscious, telling her about his days while holding Paiten in his arms. He would often pass George on his way in who would smile, thumping him on the back hard when he walked by, making Punk smile. The sense that that little strange man had knocked into him in just a few minutes was life changing, literally.

He'd then go home and crack on with the garden, staying out until late on, stopping in between for something to eat and to feed or change Paiten. He was keeping his mind on keeping himself strong for Paiten and AJ. The garden wasn't necessarily something that he needed to bother with, it just helped keep him occupied instead of drowning in bottles of booze. Seth was extremely proud of Punk and the progression he had made in a short month, as was Roman. Dean however had been avoiding Punk to Punks surprise.

And when his busy and productive day was over, he got to lay down on the couch with Paiten, holding her as she lay on his chest while he watched TV, her small and whispery breaths soothing him. It was harder being strong like this than just sitting swigging over a bottle of god knows what, but being strong didn't lead him to lose his family, it lead him to keeping them closer than ever.

It was a change of spirit, change of mind, and all because he realised how much he couldn't lose his family, or friends for that matter. AJ had been in the coma for just over 5 weeks. He'd made it this far, he had some cautioned hiccups on the way, but here he was, being a father, staying away from drink, keeping his mind on something else to stop the temptation. He knew AJ would be proud of him. He hoped she would wake soon. This was the longest he'd ever went without talking to her or holding her the way he wanted to.

It was yet another sunny day and Punk was now finished building the shed, beginning to paint it, knowing it would dry quickly in the heat. His t-shirt was off and lying on the grass, too warm to keep it own. Paiten was in her stroller sleeping in the shade, Punks watchful eye on her all of the time.

She had grown to his surprise in the past month and had began smiling to him in the most adorable of ways. She was still such a tiny little bundle of joy however, the greatest little thing to hug at night when he had moments of missing AJ.

"What'd you think, Pait?" Punk stood back, half of the shed already painted, looking down at his sleeping daughter, smiling at her beauty as he carried on with the painting. If he carried on in this mature way, AJ would have woken up in a blink of an eye soon. He was too young to drink his life away, people were relying on him, his daughter and soon to be wife were relying on him. He would not be held responsible as the man who let his family down. He would not be his father.


	44. Chapter 44

It was another warm day and Punk was spending it like had been for the past month, out in the garden, this time he was finishing up everything. The shed had been painted and moved into the back of the garden. The grass had been cut, weeded and sprayed with some sort of anti weed killer that he got. All that was left was to set up the garden furniture and everything was good to go. H'e bought extra chairs as he assumed his friends would be over testing out the new garden for Summer.

"So this part…" Punk looked at the leg of the chair, kneeling down on the grass, confusion coming over his face as he waved it about in front of him, "Goes with this…" He picked up another part, turning to Paiten, her eyes alert and watching him, a smile coming across his face.

He hadn't even heard Dean come through the house and into the background as he heard a deliberate cough to get his attention. He left the pieces of furniture and turned around standing up.

"Hey, man." Punk smiled, "You alright?" Punk asked.

"I'm not staying. The hospital phoned me, said they couldn't get a hold of you. AJ started to open her eyes a few hours ago." Dean told Punk as Punk smiled with such relief.

"Really?" Punk put his hands behind his head, smiling as big as the sun.

"Yeah." Dean nodded. Although he was still annoyed with Punk, he did enjoy the smile on his friends face.

"Well… are you coming?" Punk asked Dean, lifting Paiten out of her stroller, walking ahead of Dean and turning back to see if he was joining him.

"I'll go see her later." Dean said bluntly, watching as Punk just nodded, on cloud nine at this amazing news, carrying his daughter into the house to get her ready to go see her mother. He had butterflies. He couldn't wait to kiss AJ and feel her kiss back, to see her eyes opened and a smile on her face.

"You still don't know what you said to me… do you?" Dean walked back into the house, seeing Punk put Paiten's tiny little shoes on her feet, of course converse bought respectfully by AJ of course. They were pretty cute, especially with how tiny they were.

"What are you talking about?" Punk looked across at Dean, "I don't have time for this." He shook his head.

"Of course you don't." Dean nodded coldly, watching as Punk lifted Paiten into his arms.

"I'll talk to your later. Yeah?" Punk said to Dean, oblivious to the hurt he had really put on his friend, only thinking of one thing right now, AJ being awake, and how much he needed to see her, he wasn't going to let her wake up alone.

"Can you lock up." Punk asked Dean, making his way through the living room and heading for the door, nothing else on his mind at the moment other than AJ and finally getting to see her awoken self.

* * *

Punk sped to the hospital, his heart racing as fast as ever. He couldn't wait to see AJ, he'd longed to hear her voice and see her awake for over a month now, it had been far too long since he got to hold her.

As soon as he got out of the car, he lifted Paiten out of her car seat and into his arms, "C'mon… let's go see mommy, huh? I bet she's missed you." Punk said, holding Paiten into his chest securely, locking the car and heading into the hospital on route to AJ's room.

He couldn't wait for AJ to get strong enough to come home eventually, so they could be a family, the way they were meant to be from the start. He knew she would be weak and her body would be fragile from not moving for over a month, but he was going to be there to help her whenever she needed it.

He reached the room, balancing holding Paiten with one arm, no trouble at all since she was so small, using his other hand to open the door, walking straight into the room, watching AJ's head turn slowly, a tired smile spreading across her face.

"Look…" Punk shut the door over, pointing over to AJ as he looked at Paiten, "Look, there's mommy." He smiled down to his daughter, lifting his head back up to AJ, her eyes hanging rather low with tiredness, yet such a bright smile on her face at the sight of her daughter and fiance.

"Hey." Punk walked over to AJ's bed, sitting down on the chair beside, watching her lift her hand and wave weakly. Her voice had completely been lost from all the breathing tubes that were down her throat during her time in the coma, it was going to take a while for her to regain her full voice, for now she just had to stick with nodding and smiling.

"You can't speak?" Punk asked the obvious, watching AJ shake her head, lifting her weak hand and pointing down her throat all the way down to her chest, running her finger down to try and see if he gathered what she was saying.

"The tubes?" Punk asked her as she nodded, "It's ok… you don't have to speak." Punk said, watching her shuffle her weak body closer to the edge beside him, her hand reaching out to grasp her daughters, having a hard time realising she had been unconscious for over a month and missed the first month of her daughters life.

"Do you want to hold her?" Punk asked as AJ immediately nodded, shuffling back to the centre of the bed as Punk stood up, placing Paiten in her weak arms, watching a tear roll down her eyes as she stroked her daughter's cheek. It was hard waking up and realising she had been completely out of it for a month. She felt like she was all over the place and didn't know where she was.

"Don't cry." Punk said, drying AJ's tears for her, just so glad to see those eyes opened and that smile again. He'd really missed her. It was a classic example of how much he would have been lost without her in life. He knew once she had regained full strength and was able to come home, he would have to tell her about how hard it really was without her, and how he turned to alcohol to help him for the first days, but once she seen how strong he had got and how much he had overcome his bad habit, he was so sure she would be proud of him.

AJ spent forever just looking down at Paiten, remembering the last time she saw her was the day she gave birth to her, that being of course the last day she remembered until everything just shut down and she woke up a month later. The nurses had told her very bluntly that she lost so much blood that she went unconscious and into a coma and that she was very lucky to be alive.

She couldn't have imagined not making it through the coma, she couldn't imagine not seeing Paiten or Punk again. She felt like she hadn't even got a chance to be a mother yet. She was just so proud of Punk for raising her on his own for the first month.

Punk watched as she mouthed 'Thank you' to him, no noise coming, just mouthing the words to him, truly thankful that he had taken care of Paiten like she knew he would.

"You have nothing to thank me for. I'm just so glad you're awake." Punk told her, brushing his hands through her hair as she relaxed her muscles with a smile.

* * *

Punk had to eventually pull himself away from the hospital to go home and feed Paiten and get her to bed, which AJ obviously understood. She knew he would have fitted into his own routine with her, perhaps one that they never discussed, but she was fine with that. As long as they were both ok, she was fine.

Punk promised he would be back in the morning to see her, to which she pointed to Paiten too, in signal for her to bring her with him, which of course he nodded. He then sealed his promise with a kiss on the lips, finally feeling her kiss back like she hadn't done in a lot of weeks, keeping her smile in his mind as he drove home.

He didn't want to overwhelm her and tell her about everything straight away, he wanted her to come round and build her strength up, to wait until she got home before he sat down and told her what had happened. He was positive she would understand. He was hurting.

He got home with Paiten, walking in the non locked door, cursing upon Dean until he realised Dean was still at the house, sitting on the couch.

"What are you still doing here?" Punk asked Dean, making his way into the living room and around the couch, placing Paiten down in the centre of the floor on her little soft mat, turning his attention back to Dean who stood up and looked across at him.

"You really don't remember what you said to me? Do you?" Dean asked Punk.

"When?" Punk shook his head, confused at this outburst from Dean.

"When you were out of your face, when me and Seth came round to check on you." Dean said, "Do you really not remember what you said to me?" Dean asked with cold eyes, still hurting from the comment Punk had made towards him.

"Well obviously not." Punk said, "What did I say to you?" Punk asked, expecting this to put him on a downer, going from being so excited about AJ being awake, so happy that she was finally out of her coma, to coming home to Dean getting up in his face.

"You told me that I was the one that had the drug and alcohol problems. As if I was some sort of failure to the group, like I'm below you. You know… better than anyone, how hard it was for me to get through all of that shit before and you just… you threw it all back in my face." Dean said, watching Punk sigh and run his hands through his hair.

"I'm sorry… I didn't remember saying that to you… you know I wasn't myself. I didn't mean it obviously." Punk told Dean.

"Well, you know what they say… the truth comes out when the bottle gets opened." Dean said, "Is that what you think of me?" Dean frowned at Punk, "Some… former crack head junkie who was good at fighting so you just took me under your wing?" Dean shrugged to Punk.

"Of course not. Dean, you're my best friend. I asked you to join me at the station because I thought you were a good person, I knew you were a good person, despite your past." Punk said, "I never meant to hurt you or say that, I was upset and drunk. I would have lashed out at anyone." Punk told him.

"Really?" Dean looked across at Punk.

"Really." Punk nodded, "You know how proud I am of you for overcoming all the things you did. Next to AJ, you're probably the strongest out of all of this." He said as Dean smiled, "Don't listen to drunk Punk, drunk Punk is a fucking asshole." Punk said as Dean laughed.

"Yeah. I don't like drunk Punk. I don't want to see him again." Dean nodded as Punk smiled.

"You won't see him again, I promise." Punk said, "We cool?" He asked.

"Yeah. We're cool." Dean said, pulling Punk in for a brotherly hug, an eruption of cries coming from Paiten as they did so. It was time for her night time feeding, a change of diaper and bed.

"Alright, alright…" Punk pulled from the hug and looked down at Paiten, "Be patient, lady. I only have two hands." He told his daughter as Dean smiled.

"I better shoot off. Me and Renee are going to see AJ tomorrow, I might see you there." Dean told Punk as he walked around the couch and beginning to head out.

"Most likely." Punk nodded through Paiten's cries.

"I'll catch you later." Dean told his friend, glad that they had cleared the air and Punk had explained his set of mind when he said that spiteful comment to Dean.

"See you." Punk mumbled as Dean left, crouching down and picking Paiten up, heading into the kitchen to go do her a bottle before her bed, and before his bed for that matter, being completely exhausted from the day, although there had never been a brighter day since AJ had went into her coma.

He was surprised at his own self that he had said such a thing to Dean, to his best friend, but it was the alcohol talking, not him. He would never say something like that to Dean. He was his best friend. He was just glad the air was cleared between them and that Dean didn't think of him as a spiteful person.

He was glad AJ was awake now and was willing to help her each day to regain her voice and strength, so she could come home and be a mom to little Paiten and soon be a wife to him, right where she should have been all along.

* * *

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	45. Chapter 45

_The next morning…_

"Ok, April. How about we try get you up and walking?" The nurse came into AJ's room, bright and early the next morning, barely giving AJ time to wake up.

AJ nodded, knowing that if she didn't begin to move and attempt these things that her body was too weak to do, that she would never regain her strength.

"Are your daughter and boyfriend coming to visit you today?" The nurse asked, watching AJ pull the covers back from in bed, slowly bringing her legs round to hang off the edge of the bed, her hands on each side of the bed beside her.

AJ nodded at the nurse's question, still having a hard time talking, each night when she was alone in her room, she would try and speak, having to resist as it hurt too much, nevertheless pushing through the pain and making sure she at least tried.

She took hold of the nurse's arm, pulling herself to her feet, her head feeling a little light as she stood up for the first time in a month, taking one foot step with pain coming across her face. It wasn't as if she was just weak, her body was extremely sore from not moving it for so long, it really hurt just to make these small steps, but it was what she had to do to build herself back up again, not that she'd ever felt strong in a long time. The last time she felt strong and untouchable was before her head injury in the crash with Dean, after that she'd seemed to get weaker and weaker.

Just as she had made it round to the side of the bed, ready to take the small steps back, not wanting to do too much, following the nurse's orders, she seen Punk walk through the door. Little Paiten was in her seat that hung over his arm, and he looked bright and fresh, like he'd had a good night sleep.

"Here… let me help you." Punk said, sitting Paiten's car seat down beside the chair beside the bed, walking over to AJ and taking the nurses position, feeling her grip on to his arm.

"I'll come back round later tonight for you to do the same again." The nurse nodded, trusting that Punk could help AJ walk back round into bed, leaving the couple alone in the room as she walked off.

"Thank you." AJ whispered, taking one small step at a time.

"Stop saying that. It's what I'm here for." He told her, helping her all the way back into bed, bringing the covers over her and taking a seat on the chair beside the bed, staring down at Paiten fast asleep in her car seat.

AJ had been loving the little outfits Punk had been dressing her in so far, he really had been taking good care of her, she could always rely on him. Not wanting to disturb her daughter from her sleep, as much as she wanted to hold her again, she focused her attention just on Punk.

"Did you…" AJ whispered, taking a breath and swallowing loudly, "Bring me… pyjamas." She whispered with croak to her voice.

"Shit." Punk put his hand on his forehead, knowing there was something he forgot to take with him. He'd packed a bag like AJ asked him, filled with pyjamas, bottles of water, sweeties, comics and pictures of Paiten that she assumed Punk had taken each day since she was in her coma.

He'd packed it all last night and had it sitting right at the front door, but he was so excited to see AJ again that he rushed out forgetting it.

"It's ok." AJ touched his hand with a smile, "To… morrow." She pointed her finger as if drawing a hill out in the air.

"No… no, I'll bring it tonight." Punk told her, knowing how much she wanted the comfort of her own clothes, and some comics to reduce her boredom, and some flavoured sweeties and water to help her voice. He would pop by with it later on in the night.

AJ nodded with a smile, grateful for Punk agreeing to come by later on and give her the things she had asked for the previous night. She had so many questions to ask him, but it hurt to ask. She wanted to know all about Paiten, if she had smiled yet, how her first night had went at home, how she was settling in, did she sleep at night, did she have a favourite cuddly toy yet. She wanted to know so much, so much that she was gutted she had missed.

"How… has..." AJ paused as Punk watched her try to speak, "Paiten… been?" She asked quietly and slowly, taking the cup of water from the side and sipping on it, her throat sore and dry from just the little sentences she had been speaking.

"She's been great." Punk smiled down at his sleeping daughter, "Yeah… she slept great the first night." Punk said, lying through his teeth as on his daughter's first night home, he was completely out of his face on booze, but AJ didn't need to know that. Not yet.

"She loves lying in the living room on that mat we bought for her… she would lie there all night if I let her. She lets me sleep… which is always a plus." Punk smiled, reaching down and stroking Paiten's cheek, "She's perfect… but, she misses her mommy." Punk turned to AJ, watching her frown.

"I've missed… her too." AJ nodded, looking down at her daughter, looking back up at Punk, "And you…" She said, reaching for his hand and holding it tightly with a smile.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." Punk told her, "Every day has felt like a hundred years. I need you back at home, more than ever." Punk told her, watching her lift her hand, stroking his cheek lovingly with a smile.

She couldn't wait to go home once she'd built up her strength and be a mother to her daughter, she refused to miss anymore of her life.

* * *

After Punk had left after his visit, it wasn't long until Dean stopped by to visit AJ, a get well soon balloon in his hand making AJ laugh as soon as he walked in the door. Dean had been informed by Punk that AJ had a hard time speaking, so he was prepared for her not to have much conversation in her. He wouldn't either if he had been asleep for a month.

It was normal conversation, mostly horrible jokes being told to make AJ smile and laugh, doing what he done best. He always had to apologise to AJ for Renee not being there. Someone from her work had phoned in sick and she had to cover a shift which was unfortunate as she was looking forward to seeing AJ.

The conversation was nice and relaxing, she always found comfort in Dean and loved talking to him and having his company, until he brought up something that alarmed her.

"Yeah… Punk's not being doing too well without you… I mean, he's gotten stronger as the days went on, but he started off pretty low." Dean told AJ, not including any drink talk, he would leave Punk to tell AJ that on her own when he was ready.

"Has he… been… ok?" AJ asked in a whisper, wondering if Punk had been as bright and as cheery as he was portrayed to her. He did look rather white and tired.

"I mean. He got better. But man… he really got off on the wrong foot with dealing with it all." Dean told her, "He was a mess the first few days. He could barely look after Paiten." Dean said, watching AJ frown, hoping that not to be true, she hoped Punk had taken great care of Paiten since day one. She didn't know why she believed that Punk had been so fine this past month anyway, "But he got better… you know, he's a great father _now._" Dean said, the 'now' part striking AJ with confusion.

"I guess…" Dean said, "Some things need to be discussed between a to be husband and wife. I don't want to say anything I shouldn't. But man… I was scared for him. I really was. Seth had to look after Paiten for a night he was so down." Dean said, seeing a lot of hurt in AJ's eyes, immediately realising he was saying too much.

AJ tried to continue with the normal flowing conversation after the awkward topic of Punks first few days without her, but she just couldn't shift it from her mind. She didn't think Punk would have been as broken as what Dean was describing. She was hoping he never done anything stupid, especially with their daughter just days old, that would deeply disappoint her.

* * *

After Dean had left, AJ had taken a long needed nap, exhausted from Punks morning visit and Dean's afternoon visit, still thinking about what Dean had said to her about Punk and his actings towards her being in a coma.

He eventually walked through the room daughter later that night, by himself without Paiten, the bag in which she requested in his hands as he walked in with a smile.

"I left Paiten with Seth, I'd just managed to put her to sleep so I didn't want to wake her." Punk said, to AJ's disappointment, putting the bag down beside her bed, "How are you?" He asked, watching her just nod.

"Ok." She whispered.

"Well… I don't want to stay too long, technically I shouldn't really be allowed in outside of the visiting hours, but they let me in with the bag of stuff." Punk told her as she nodded, understanding him, swinging her legs out of bed, her arms shaking as she pushed herself off the bed.

"Can you… help." AJ asked in a whispered croak, pointing down to the bag, figuring she would need help putting her pyjamas on, not spending another minute in these horrible hospital gowns.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Of course." He walked around the side of the bed which she was standing at, picking up the bag and taking the pyjamas out he had picked for her, really just picking the first pair out of her drawer.

"Ok… bare with me… I'm just getting used to dressing Paiten." Punk said, watching as she smiled, "Lift your arms up." He whispered.

AJ slowly raised her arms, pain overcoming her face as it hurt to do such a simple task.

Punk took the hem of the gown and and lifted it up over her body, just her underwear underneath, slowly bringing her arms back down to her side once Punk had taken the gown off. She felt cold and shivery, but never nervous, she'd overcome being open like this in front of Punk, battling the scars she had been left with after being raped.

Punk took the pyjama bottoms, crouching down and lifting one of her legs up and into the bottoms, doing the same with the other legs, pulling them up as he stared at her body all the way up, passing bullet scars and hicks on her body, matching his on his own body as well.

"It's a shame you're too weak." Punk frowned, still so attracted to her beauty, even if she was tired, in pain and unable to walk.

Punk chuckled, feeling AJ push him lightly as she smiled. She really couldn't wait to go home and be in her own comforts beside her fiance. She felt so guilty for causing him to hurt, yet again, if she could have fought the coma she would have, in a heartbeat, she just hoped he would tell her soon about how hard it really was for him, and further explain to her what Dean was talking about.

Punk took the pyjamas top, unwinding the folding fabric and putting it over her head, feeding her arms through the holes and pulling it down her top half, "There." Punk smiled, leaning down and kissing her head, cupping her cheeks while doing so as she looked up at him.

"You're ok… now." AJ whispered, cupping his own cheeks, knowing that her physical pain wasn't anywhere close to his emotional pain. He didn't know that she knew there was something more than things just being 'tough' for him without her. But she was waiting for him to tell her about it. She wasn't going to question him. She just didn't want him to hurt anymore.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	46. Chapter 46

AJ had been kept in hospital for the next few days, with countless visits from Punk and the rest of her friends. The small steps she was taking were turning into bigger ones, and her quiet and shaken voice was beginning to tone back to her normal voice, speaking without pain which was such a relief. She was completely over the moon when she was told she could leave the hospital. She couldn't wait to go home, sleep in her own bed, put her daughter to sleep and fit into her motherly role around the house to which she had missed out on for the first month.

She was still waiting on Punk coming to her, to talk to her about what had really happened while she was out of it for a month, but he was doing a excellent job of hiding it all like everything was fine. If he continued to drag it out this long, she would wind up having to question him, and she'd rather he came to her for once instead of pouncing on him and forcing it out of him. She knew he would have been struggling without her, if he was in a coma she would have been struggling without him, but it was what Dean was saying about not looking after Paiten and Seth having to watch her for one night, and how 'now' Punk was a good father, as if before he wasn't. She wanted to know. She hoped Punk hadn't been stupid.

"Watch your step." Punk said, holding AJ around the waist, helping her up the stairs to their house, an unknown gathering of people inside for AJ, including her daughter. Since the welcome home gathering for Paiten was ruined by the tragedy of AJ's coma, Punk figured they could pick up things exactly where they fell apart as soon as AJ came home, literally.

"Why is there so many cars on the street?" AJ asked, wondering why there were so many vehicles parked outside their house, watching Punk open the door to their house, the sound of people chattering, glasses clinking and music playing coming to her ears.

"I planned on doing this when you were meant to come home after having Paiten, but that idea sort of expired." Punk told her as she smiled.

"You didn't have to do this. A cuddle on the couch with you would have been fine." AJ shook her head at the trouble Punk had went to, taking her sweater off, still with weak arms, not completely back to her normal self, but well enough to be at home.

Punk took her sweater from her, walking into the living room where everyone greeted her in the lightest of form. Punk had informed everyone that she was still getting tired easily and that her body was still weak and fragile, so they all kept that in mind when hugging her. No doubt the party would only last for two hours at the most.

AJ was glad to see everyone she cared about in her life around her, it was nice, especially seeing some old faces from the force that she hadn't spoke to in a while. Of course there were her three big brothers and Renee, like always, little Paiten who was bouncing in Romans arms lightly, his arms nearly the same size as her little body. There was Punks brother with little Zak who was standing on his own, biting the balloons that he'd been blown up. And there were also some other guys and girls who she was close to back when her and the boys used to go on missions. It was nice to come home to this after being out of it for so long.

"How are you feeling now?" Seth asked AJ in the kitchen, eating out a packet of Potato chips, watching AJ pour herself a drink.

"Ok." AJ smiled, "I'm glad to be home." She admitted.

"I bet." Seth nodded, "I'm glad you're home. For Punks sake." Seth said, "Don't get me wrong, he pulled himself together, done the back garden up and everything… but it wasn't looking good for him for a while." Seth said, crunching on the chips as AJ frowned.

"I've been told." AJ nodded, "I'll have to speak to him. He's as deep as an ocean when it comes to telling me things." She sighed.

"Well… that's Punk for you." Seth winked to her as she smiled, approaching her with a large arm pulling her into him, "Seriously though, glad you're back." Seth said in all seriousness, pressing a kiss on AJ's head, releasing her from the gentle hug and trailing back into the living room where everyone else was, leaving AJ in the kitchen thinking to herself.

She knew she would have to wind up sitting Punk down and questioning him on the topic of him being down that the boys kept bringing up, especially when Paiten was involved and her nurturing and care.

The little gathering did only last for two others. Punks brother had to shoot off since Zak had fell asleep, Dean and Renee had left for the reservation they had booked for dinner, and everyone else just seemed to disappear within the next few minutes after that. AJ was glad as she was beginning to feel tired, but still eager to feed her daughter and put her to bed for the first time at home.

"She'll sometimes turn her head and the formula goes everywhere, so here's some wipes." Punk said, taking a seat beside AJ on the couch who was feeding Paiten, sitting some baby wipes on the coffee table as he enjoyed the sheer amazement in AJ's face as she fed Paiten.

"She's doing just fine." AJ smiled in a soft voice, looking down at Paiten greedily enjoying the bottle her mother was feeding her, her beady little green eyes staring up at AJ, as if already knowing this was her mother.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to see you here, like this… feeding her." Punk said, "I thought I was going to lose you… when all that blood was there, and they took me out the room, everyone was rushing by me… I thought you were going to die on me." Punk admitted, "I'm so glad you're here." He told her.

AJ smiled to him, looking down at her daughter, her pride and joy in everything she done from now on, her face so angelic, already having had so many kisses planted on her from AJ.

"Me too." AJ agreed, glad she had woke up when she did, not baring to have missed anymore of Paiten's life than she already had, looking back up at Punk, "Here's the thing…" She began, "I know you didn't cope very well without me. I can understand why, but if there's anything you want to tell me… even if I might not like it, you need to tell me. Don't keep things from me." She shook her head, watching Punks guilty head bury to the ground, his shoulders and body going stiff as ever.

"It's too embarrassing and pathetic. You would never understand." He shook his head.

"I thought the exact same before I told you I was raped." AJ said, watching as he turned around and stared into her eyes, "If I can tell you that, you can tell me anything." She said, putting the empty bottle on the floor beside her, lifting Paiten into her chest to where she began patting and rubbing her back.

"Ok… I… I drank again." Punk said, watching as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Your promised me you wouldn't." AJ said, feeling disappointed that Punk had turned to alcohol again, only terrifying her that when everytime something went wrong, he would go on an alcohol binge.

"I know." Punk nodded, "And I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I was a mess without you." He admitted.

"And that's why Paiten had to go stay at Seth's?" AJ questioned.

"Well no… Paiten was here." Punk said, watching AJ's nostrils flair with anger.

"She was here? Whilst you were intoxicating yourself?" AJ said, holding Paiten even closer to her chest, not believing that Punk would do such a thing, never mind whilst Paiten was in the house.

"It was the first night, I was a…"

"The first night?" AJ stood up, walking over and laying Paiten on her mat in the middle of the living room, "You're telling me, that my daughter's first night at home, was spent alone, upstairs, while her father drank himself into unconsciousness and her mother was in a coma at the hospital… what… how could you." She shook her head at his disgrace, watching him stand up as she folded the blanket up that was on the couch, shaking her head repeatedly at the news she was hearing.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. It wasn't like I was neglecting her. I was terrified, I had to ease the pain and it was the only thing I could think of." Punk said, looking across at her, putting the folded blanket on the couch and folding her arms, looking across at him.

"How did you get it? The alcohol?" AJ asked him.

"I went to the store… look, what does that matter…" Punk reached out for her hand as she grabbed it away.

"And you took Paiten?" AJ said, watching Punks head drop, his answer written all over his face, "Oh, Punk. You're just the classiest, aren't you. Did she help you which bottle to pick? Huh?" AJ looked up at him.

"If I knew you were going to be like this, I wouldn't have told you. You had no idea how bad I was feeling. I know you've had it hard this past year. I know that. But I've had to sit back and watch it all. Watch someone I love, someone who was so strong, get broken down to where she's barely alive anymore. I was upset, I was scared… I didn't know what I was doing." Punk said.

"What… and you think it's easy for me? To look at myself in the mirror and think about how much I've changed. How much confidence I've lost in myself. How much I believe that I could never go back out and do what we used to do for a living." AJ said.

"I never said it was easy for you." Punk said, "I know what I did was wrong. You were expecting me to look after Paiten and yeah… for the first few nights I didn't, not the way I should have anyway. But do you know what? I got myself together, I spent hours trying to find some sanity in that fucking back garden, learning how to be a father by myself with no help." Punk told her, "So, I'm sorry. If for a few nights I decided to be weak, but that's what happens when your girlfriend has had a head injury, been raped, kidnapped and put into a coma. All in the one fucking year!" Punk shouted, looking across at AJ.

"Don't raise your voice in front of her." AJ warned Punk, "I expected more from you." She looked at him with disappointment, "I really did." She said.

To some she may have been overreacting, but she was counting on Punk all this time to look after Paiten and take good care of her from day one, and of course she knew he had redeemed himself and did actually take good care of her, but knowing the first few days he had turned his attention more to alcohol than her sickened her, no matter how many times Punk told her he was upset, she was still disgusted that her daughter's first night at home was spent with her father downstairs getting drunk.

"You expected more from me?" Punk looked across at her, pointing to himself, "Ok, well why don't I go put myself in a coma and see how you deal with it? Shall I?" Punk inched closer to her.

"I wouldn't neglect my daughter, that's for sure." AJ spat at him, looking up at him, deliberately showcasing his height to her, making a statement that he was bigger at this moment in time.

"I didn't neglect her." Punk gritted his teeth, "I love my daughter." He said.

"I never said you didn't." AJ looked up at him, taking a minute to breathe, stepping back and putting her hand on her forehead, sighing as she looked up at him.

"Don't start crying." Punk warned her, pointing his finger at her.

"Why can we never be happy?" AJ asked him with frustration, "There's always something standing in our way. I don't think… I don't think I've been properly happy since before the crash." AJ told him, "Is that… meant to tell me something?" She shrugged.

"Telling you what?" Punk looked at her with confusion.

"That we're better as friends than we are in a relationship. Our relationship has ruined who I am. I can't be myself anymore, I feel like I can't defend myself the way I used to. The problem in all of this isn't the fact that I was raped, or in a coma, or that you decided to be an alcholic for a few nights." AJ shook her head.

"Then what's the problem?" Punk asked her.

"Us." AJ said, without hesitation.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	47. Chapter 47

"What do you mean us?" Punk looked across at AJ like she was insane.

"Us… me and you, being together. It's caused us nothing but pain and sadness. We… we should never have gotten together, we should have just stayed friends." AJ shook her head, finally realising that nothing that had happened was the problem, it was their relationship. Everything that had happened was because of their relationship come to think about it.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry… but did we not just have a baby together? Or is she just a fucking peice of plastic to you." Punk pointed to Paiten who was now fast asleep over her parents fighting.

"It's not about her." AJ shook her head.

"Yeah, actually. It is. Considering we're her parents. You can't just… you can't just turn around and tell me we should just be friends." Punk looked across at her like she was completely out of her mind, "No matter what has happened, I still want you, AJ." Punk spoke truthfully.

"And I still want you. Don't you think that I don't. This isn't about me not loving you or not wanting you anymore. I'm always going to love you. It's me and you for crying out loud." She smiled up at him, "I just don't think we're heading in the right direction anymore, I feel like everytime we see a little glimpse of happiness, something happens… and it always happens to me." AJ said with emotion in her voice, "And I'm fed up of being a victim. I want to be me again… I want to be that girl that guys are actually frightened of. I'm just some weak, pathetic loser now." She sighed, sitting down on the couch with a sigh.

"You aren't any of those things." Punk shook his head, sitting down beside her, "We can't be friends after this, AJ. I can't be friends with you after sharing a bed with you for a year, or having a baby with you and planning to get married. I can't do that." Punk shook his head.

"I'm not happy with my life, Punk." AJ said, looking him in the eye with honesty, "I'm fed up of constantly getting knocked down just when I get to my feet again." She sighed, "We should never have got together in the first place. We knew I'd be set a target for people who were after you." AJ sighed.

"Ok… but what about the times that things did feel good? Huh? What about our first time? How right everything felt… or the weeks running up to the birth? The lake house?" Punk recalled, "Not everything has been terrible." Punk told her.

"I know. And all those moments were special and wonderful, and I wouldn't change them for the world. But I can't live my life waiting in suspense to see what happens to me next. Am I going to walk out of the door one morning and just get shot? To me, that sounds like something that would happen to me by the way things are going." She rolled her eyes.

"What do you want me to do, AJ?" Punk asked her, not knowing what he could even say to her never mind do.

"I want you to respect my decision." AJ said.

"What decision?" Punk shook his head with confusion.

"My decision in separating from you." She told him, "I refuse to be in pain anymore and most importantly, I refuse to make you watch me in pain." She told him.

"AJ." Punk sighed, "It's not our relationship that is the problem. We've just had some bad luck over the year." He told her.

"C'mon… even you know that what we've been through hasn't just been bad luck." AJ looked at him, "Maybe, we just aren't meant for each other. We can always say we gave it a try." AJ said.

"You're giving up too easily." Punk stood up, shaking his head, not believing his ears. Was she really breaking up with him? After everything they'd been through.

"I don't want to keep ruining your life. You were perfectly happy before we got together." AJ told him.

"No I wasn't." He shook his head.

"I don't want to argue with you. I just want us to go about this in the right way. For Paiten's sake." AJ said as Punk just shook his head.

"I can't believe you're doing this." He said, "You're just tired… You've had a long day, you aren't thinking straight." He told her, like he knew what she was thinking.

"No… No, for once… I am thinking straight." AJ said, "I'll go back to living in my own house again, Paiten can stay with you whatever days you want her and…"

"I want her everyday, AJ." Punk told her, "I don't want you to move out." He shook his head.

"Don't make this difficult." She shook her head.

"How can you just end things with me like this. Like I never mattered to you." He screwed his eyes up in her direction.

"You are the only thing that has ever mattered to me in my whole entire life. I'm always going to love you." She said, "I just don't think we're meant to be. Maybe, there's a guy and girl out there who suit us better." She shrugged.

"I'm glad you're already thinking about moving on to a different guy." Punk shook his head with a scowl.

"Oh, don't be such a baby." She pushed him with her small hand, "I'm just saying… there is a good chance that we were never meant to be." She said.

"Oh yeah, because a nine year crush on you means we were never meant to be." He scoffed at her harshly.

"And that's exactly all this was… just a crush. You'll get over me, I'll get over you. It'll take some time, but we will." AJ nodded.

"If you think I'll get over you then you're fucking crazy." Punk said, "C'mon… you don't really mean any of this stuff… do you?" He said, watching her nod.

"I do. I just… I just want to be Mendez to you again. Not AJ or April." She shook her head.

"So… you're just going to move out? We take care of Paiten just as friends? We go about our own business and forget about everything we had?" Punk asked her.

"Pretty much." AJ nodded, "I'm not doing this to hurt you. I just think, our lives would be so much easier if we weren't together." She said, watching Punk run his hands through his hair, sighing.

Punk did understand where she was coming from. It wasn't like nothing made sense. Everything did start fucking up when they got together, it made sense that their relationship was the problem, but that didn't mean he wanted to give it all up and become 'friends' who just happen to have a baby together.

"This can't be over." Punk stared across at her, looking in those gorgeous brown eyes that he would never stop loving.

"Then how come it is." AJ sighed, frowning across at him as he stood back, his hands on his hips as he looked away from her.

This couldn't be it. He loved her way too much to forget about her and move on. But it was her decision, he couldn't change how she was feeling. He had no choice but to go along with it. Even if it did mean he was losing the only woman in the world that he would ever love.

"If that's what you want…" Punk shrugged, not seeing how he had a choice now. He couldn't force her to stay.

"We knew it was always going to be a risk. Us getting together. I just don't want things to be awkward between us now. I just want us to be Mendez and Brooks again… nothing else. Just be my friend." AJ asked. She didn't want to be with him anymore, but that didn't mean she wanted him out of her life, she would always have some sort of connection with him through Paiten.

"I don't see how I have much of a choice. You're going to up and leave me anyway." Punk shrugged, "But you're probably right… us being together was never a good idea, we should have just kept our feelings to ourselves and continued with work." He said, "It would have been easier for everyone."

"I'll be on the look out for houses near by. If I don't find one soon I can just stay at Deans, if you don't want me around." She understood.

"No, take as long as you need to find a place. You can stay here until you find somewhere." He told her.

"I'm sorry things have to go this way." She sighed, seeing so much hurt and sadness in his face, "I just don't want us to suffer anymore. I'm done being someone's punching bag." She said.

"I guess…" Punk took her hand, sliding the engagement ring off her finger, "I should probably take this back then, huh?"

"Yeah." AJ painfully watched him slide it from her finger, "But keep it… you never know who might come along." She smiled, not sure who she was trying to kid on, her or Punk.

"Nah, this is no use to me now. If you won't wear it, no one will." He said, putting the ring in his jean pocket, "I'm really going to miss you." He admitted.

"I'm not going anywhere." She reminded him. Although she wanted to move on, carry on in life as a single mother, she still wanted to be friends with Punk, as hard as it would be at first.

"I don't mean like that… I mean, I'm going to miss kissing you and hugging you, sleeping with you, telling you how much I love you. I'm going to miss that." He admitted.

"Me too." AJ whispered, "Me too." She repeated, this time in a mumble.

She just wanted her life back to the way it used to be. Just her and her four friends. Not three friends and her boyfriend. Everything just went downhill since they got together and it had finally took her this long to figure out it was them that was the problem. It was fun while it lasted, she'd never forget the great and special moments they shared together as a couple, but she wanted her life back, she wanted to just go on, being a mom and living the life she used to. It sure bet being put down by one underlining problem after the other.

It was going to be hard. So hard. But this was the only solution to their problem that she had. They would get over it, Punk would be on to the next willing girl in no time, she was sure of it. She wanted them to just move on from this horrible year and all the horrible things that had happened to her, and start a clean slate back as friends. It wasn't the ideal life she wanted for her daughter, but she felt like this was the safer option for them both, if they got out of Punks loving watch, any enemies Punk may meet down the line, wouldn't go straight for her or Paiten.

She was going to miss him. She was going to miss him loving her and touching her, taking care of her like she was a princess, but at this one time in her life, she was going to be selfish, and think of herself. She didn't want anymore torturous things to happen to her. She didn't want Punk to watch her in pain anymore. It was time to move on, it was time to go back to Mendez and Brooks.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	48. Chapter 48

It was painful, that's all Punk could describe it as. Watching AJ gathering her things together over the course of the next few weeks, awkwardly passing her on the stairs, sleeping in different beds, taking care of Paiten individually. It was horrible. He could feel his heart splitting with each passing day.

AJ had eventually found a house about ten minutes away and was beginning to transfer things from what she was back to calling 'Punks house' now. The boys couldn't believe AJ and Punk were parting ways, it was so sudden and shocking. It was horrible to watch.

AJ wasn't enjoying how much tension was between her and Punk already. She knew they couldn't be able to become friends straight away, it was a long road to acting normal around each other again after everything had been said and done.

It had finally been a few weeks and AJ had officially moved out, leaving Punk looking at his empty wardrobe, toilet shelves, bed and his empty heart. He'd never had a worse year in his entire life and now he was left all alone come the end of it.

He couldn't believe him and AJ were really over. All those nine years of waiting hadn't even paid off, their relationship was nothing but painful and he couldn't even say that they found happiness in the end, because now they weren't even together.

AJ had the impression that Punk thought it was easy for her to move out into a new home, but it was far from it. Even just a few nights away from him she was already aching for him, it wasn't anything but easy for her. She just wanted to get on with her life, forget about this tragic year and continue to raise her baby girl with her _friend._

"C'mon Keith!" Dean yelled on the edge of his seat at Seth's apartment, Punk sitting in the corner of the couch in a slump, not much company to anyone on this hockey play off night, his friends cheering loudly, jumping up and down when the hawks scored. AJ was taking care of Paiten tonight, but had agreed to come round to drop her off to stay with him tomorrow, which at least was one thing Punk could look forward to.

"Yes!" Seth punched the air with triumph as the hawks scored another point, tapping Punk on the arm with excitement, feeling Punk slap his hand away, not even knowing why he bothered coming if he was just going to sit in the corner like a baby.

"Alright, man." Seth scowled at Punk, turning his head back to the TV as the game went to half time.

"Well, I'm going to head home. Not really feeling the game tonight." Punk sighed, standing up and stretching.

Roman frowned at Punk, looking up at him, "Things will get better." He told his friend.

"The only way things could get better is if she comes back to me." Punk said, putting his sweater on, "I'll catch you guys later." He said, abruptly leaving the apartment and heading outside into the cold wind, his hands fitting into his pockets as he walked along the pavement, the fresh air doing his muddled up mind a favour.

He got that AJ didn't want to be in pain anymore, or put him through the pain of watching her in pain, but he believed they had just been blessed with horrible luck. She'd gave up on him too easily and that hurt him. It was like she had just gave up on their love that he thought could conquer anything.

He wasn't even sorry that he stopped by at a bar on the way home.

_With AJ…_

"That's it, baby girl." AJ placed a pink blanket over a sleeping Paiten in her crib in her room, tiptoeing out the room and shutting the door behind her, tiptoeing downstairs and making her way into the living room to take a comfortable seat on the couch while boring her to death with some rotten TV shows, forever thinking about what Punk was doing.

She did hate being lonely like she did before, but it was better than sitting wondering what life's tragic accident was waiting around the corner for her. She felt safe and out of the targeting eye. Punk would be fine. He was a big boy, he could get over her no problem.

She regretted ever asking him to be her boyfriend in Abu Dhabi when her memory came back. She didn't like to say she regretted things, but she couldn't deny that she regretted that. They should have always just stayed friends, they had no business getting involved with each other so intimately. They'd only get attached and break each others hearts, exactly what they had done.

The silence was already killing her, the feeling of being alone, nothing hugging her but her own arms. It was odd when she had gotten so used to him, but she was convinced this was the right thing, for both of them. No more hurt or pain in their lives, it was definitely the right thing.

She would always love him, she would tell him that to his face, she would never stop loving him. She just couldn't express the love anymore. It was time to move on, build a foundation for her daughter, let Punk get on with his life without having to worry about her. It was a much simpler life she was giving him now. He would thank her in a few months.

_The next morning…_

AJ had strictly told Punk she'd be around to drop Paiten off at 9am sharp as she had a doctors appointment at half past, remembering he smiled at the idea of having his daughter for a full day and night. She had no doubt that he would still be a great father to Paiten, regardless of their relationship status.

She had drove the minute drive to Punks house, using the key that Punk had let her keep for emergencies still, walking into the quiet house with Paiten in her car seat hanging around her arm.

"Punk." AJ called out quietly, expecting him to be up, especially when he knew he was having Paiten for the day and night.

After hearing no immediate response, she walked through into the living room, placing Paiten in her car seat down in the centre of the room, tiptoeing upstairs, hoping he hadn't slept on by accident. Taken the hint that he had slept on, rolling her eyes at him already, she went straight for the bedroom, opening the room without thought, her heart feeling like it had been physically ripped out from her chest right there and then.

He lay, not alone, out cold in a drunk sleep, an empty bottle of booze on his nightstand, his alarm beeping loudly on the nightstand, having been doing so for the past hour, both him and the girl beside him in bed completely unconscious.

"Ok." AJ nodded in a whisper to herself, drying the tear that rolled down her cheek, looking at the scattered clothes across the room, dying quietly inside. She turned her back slowly on the room, closing the door over quietly and running downstairs, taking Paiten and leaving the house as quickly as she could.

She sat in her car for a good twenty minutes just sobbing with her forehead on the steering wheel. She told Punk he would move on, but he didn't mean with some biblical whore from on the street, and she certainly didn't mean within weeks of their break up.

He didn't deserve the pleasure of looking after his daughter if he couldn't even be prepared to be up in time for her coming. Instead he seemed to have better things to do. She pulled away from the house after getting herself together, forgetting about her doctor's appointment and heading to a friends for a shoulder to cry on.

She may have been a hypocrite, getting upset at Punk moving on, but she didn't want him moving on in this way. Drunk with some girl he probably met for two minutes. That wasn't what she wanted. She got it, he was hurting, but he'd let his daughter down, not her. She'd seen Punk at the start of the year, the strong and courageous man that she always knew him as, no fears in the world, as strong as a lion, no worries or problems, to becoming this messed up, alcohol aspiring, weak boy. And she felt like it was all her fault, because of what she had put him through and set him up to.

She pulled up at Dean's house, stepping out of the car with Paiten, knocking on the door with tears filling her eyes already, watching Dean answer in his normal basketball shorts and dirty t-shirt.

"AJ? What's wrong?" Dean asked with concern.

"Can I come in?" AJ asked with a lump in her throat, watching Dean open the door wider, letting her in and closing the door behind her.

_With Punk…_

Punk woke up to a constant beeping from his bedside cabinet, immediately jumping when he realised he was meant to be awake and ready for AJ dropping Paiten off, quickly turning his head as he remembered briefly what he got up to last night, staring at the girl sleeping beside him.

"Fuck." Punk cursed, sitting on the edge of his bed, reaching for his boxers, picking up the girls skirt instead to which he threw away in disgust, eventually gathering his boxers and slipping them on himself, reaching for his alarm ringing phone, realising he had slept in by two full hours.

"Hey…" He heard the feminine voice from behind him, feeling the girls arms wrap around him from behind.

"No… no, no… You need to leave." He unwrapped the girls arms from around him, standing up as she frowned up at him, unimpressed by that comment.

"Why don't you make me?" The girl laughed, kneeling up in bed and swaying her hips from left to right, biting her lip.

"I don't even… I don't even remember your name. Get… get out my house." He looked at the girl, barely his age, barely even AJ's age.

He couldn't remember how he wound up in this mess, but he was disgusted and ashamed by himself and his actions, not knowing what was becoming of his life, not even remembering the things he had done the previous night because he was so drunk, finding himself go back down the path of alcoholism, no one to stop him now.

He looked at his phone and brought up AJ's contact number on his phone, dialling it as he watched the young girl put her clothes on thankfully. The phone rang out and rang out, knowing AJ was deliberately ignoring him for not being ready or even ready for Paiten coming to stay when he promised her he would be up.

"When can I see you again?" The girl asked, zipping up her jacket and looking across at the man she had spent the night with, walking towards him as he backed away from her.

"Never… just get out." He shook his head, knowing it wasn't the young girls fault, taking his disgust for himself out on her, "What age… what age are you?" He asked despite himself.

"20." The girl answered, confused at the strange question.

"Oh my god." Punk put his hand on his forehead, "Get out… leave." He shook his head, feeling like he was going to throw up, seeing this girl standing in front of him as a child. A child he had spent the night with. He wanted to repeatedly punch himself in the face.

_With AJ…_

"I can't believe he has done this." Dean shook his head, "I warned him about the fucking drink." Dean said with so much anger in his veins, not believing that Punk had went through another drunk night. He was falling apart, literally.

"I wanted him to move on. I wanted him to be happy with someone else in life, but… I didn't think this soon." AJ dried her cheeks, sitting on Dean's couch as Dean paced the living room.

"He's pissing his life away. He needs help." Dean shook his head.

"I don't care." AJ shook her head, "He can choke on his own vomit for all I care." She shrugged, her anger coming out as lies.

Dean was shocked that Punk had ran back to alcohol, he was beginning to see the same traits and signs that he went through at the start of his addiction. He knew how hard it was to come away from alcohol, he didn't want Punk to have to go through the same therapy sessions and restrictions he had to. He knew especially, that only Punk could help himself, the alcohol took control of your body, told you what to do and say, wiping your real personality off the table.

"Is this my fault he's drinking? Because I split up with him?" AJ asked, not having expected Punk to be taking this so hard.

"Maybe… I told him. I fucking told him. He can't turn to alcohol everytime something goes wrong in his life." Dean cursed.

"This is all my fault." AJ sighed, her hand on her forehead with frustration.

"No. No it fucking isn't. You aren't putting the booze in his hands, he is. He needs to just grow a pair and move the fuck on." Dean sighed, not really knowing how hard it was for Punk, "I don't even know who he is anymore."

"I've turned him into this person." AJ admitted to Dean, "All the shit I've put him through, the crash, being raped, the coma, leaving him to raise Paiten by himself. All of his unhappiness and pain is because of me, one way or another." She told him.

"No one is telling him to drink, AJ." Dean said, "He can't… do you understand me, he can't take this up as a habit. I know what it's like… he's going to fall apart, I don't… I don't want you to see him the way I was." Dean said.

AJ knew vaguely about Dean's past before she had joined the group, but never really knew much. She could see he was really worried about Punk though.

Just as AJ was about to come out with more upset talk, the doorbell rang, beating Dean to it as she stood up and walked to the door, opening it wide, staring at Punk puffing for air as if he had just ran a marathon, staring up at her as he doubled over.

"I'm sorry." Punk gasped, "I slept in." He said, hoping AJ didn't know anything about him drinking or his guest in his room this morning, not realising she'd seen the full thing.

"Was she just too comfy to get out of bed from?" AJ stared at him, watching the guiltiest frown take over his features.

"How did you…"

"I came into your room this morning." She looked up at him with a scowl, "You aren't helping yourself." She told him as Dean came up behind her.

"It was a mistake. She was just some girl at a bar, I don't know what I was thinking…" He looked at AJ. He could never be more sorry.

"Just get out of my sight." AJ growled towards him.

"What? You aren't letting me watch Paiten?" Punk asked.

"No. Quite frankly you don't deserve to watch her. You seemed to have had better things to do this morning than be on time to be there when I came to drop her off." AJ said, "I don't really want to look at you." She shook her head.

"I'm sorry… but, wasn't it you who wanted to break up with me? Why are you getting all angry? What I do in my own time is none of your business anymore." Punk fought back, not playing mr nice, putting his point across.

"It is when what you're meant to be doing is looking after our daughter. Instead you're in bed with a hangover with some whore lying beside you." AJ fought back, Dean behind her staying silent.

"Look, I'm sorry. But don't tell me to move on and then get angry when I do." He said, "You can't keep my daughter from me." Punk said, his angers from not getting to see his daughter taking over him.

"Punk…" Dean said, "You aren't in the right place to look after her." Dean told his friend.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Punk looked at Dean, "Why are you even out here? This is none of your business." Punk snapped at Dean.

"You've hurt AJ. Of course it's my business." Dean said, "I think you should leave." He suggested.

Punk just looked at them both, one point both of them being his best friends in the whole entire world, watching them completely disown him, "Fine. Fucking fine." Punk nodded, "Go fuck yourselves, both of you." He waved his hand at them as AJ's lip quivered, not knowing who the man in front of her was, no… she did know him, it was who she'd turned a loving and caring man into. It was because of her that he was becoming cold and alone, turning to alcohol as his only friend. Everything that he'd had to deal with over the past year, everything that had been done to her had gone straight to his head, and now that he didn't have her anymore the way he wanted her, he was left a lonely, cold man with nothing to live for besides his daughter who he was now being kept from for her own safety.

"C'mon." Dean said as AJ watched Punk walk down the street and out of sight, "Go inside." Dean told AJ, watching her walk away crying to herself. He was worried about Punk, incredibly worried, he was losing and pushing all the people away that he loved, he needed to get it together, before the alcohol got to him first and ruined him completely. There was still time. He needed to sort himself out, or else he would lose everything, including AJ and Paiten, completely.

* * *

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**Just want to say, first of all… Don't get upset over the character I'm portraying Punk as, it's all just part of the story and plot. We all know he's a gentle, loving, great man in real life, so need for the hateful reviews. I just think that, there aren't any other fics out there that really target Punk as an alcoholic himself, well… not that I've seen any, and my goal is always to make each of my stories different, so just bare with me, I know it's upsetting to read and it's just as upsetting for me to write, but it makes the story and gives off impact, as much as you may not like it.**

**Second, I want to thank you all for REVIEWING and giving me your opinions and thoughts about the chapters, means a lot to me and I appreciate every single REVIEW. You are all amazing!**

**Until the next chapter, which as you know will no doubt be right around the corner. - Lauren. **


	49. Chapter 49

"What are we going to do?" AJ asked. Although she was extremely angry with Punk and his out of character behaviour, she was terrified of what would happen to him out in the city if he was drunk. She felt like she was trapped, like the only way for him to stop hurting and abusing alcohol, would be if she took him back, and she wasn't doing that. He had to be grown up about things and move on, for the sake of Paiten.

"Stay here. I'm going to find him." Dean said, worried about his friend to, running past AJ and out of the door, setting out on a light jog to catch up with his friend, eventually seeing Punk in the distance and speeding up, pulling him around as he got close enough.

"Hey…" Punk said, ready to go off on whoever was touching him, realising it was Dean and rolling his eyes, "What do you want?" He asked.

"Look, that wasn't me pushing you away or disowning you, I'm just thinking of AJ and Paiten. They need you, maybe AJ doesn't need you the way you want her to anymore, but she still needs you, Punk. You still mean the world to her. You can't… you can't go on a drinking fest, wake up next to some girl you don't know when you are meant to be looking after your daughter. How can AJ ever trust you with her?" Dean said, trying to shine some brotherly love on the situation, "You never walked away from me when I was going through shit, I'm not walking away from you." Dean said, recalling that it was Punk who was the only one who stayed by his side, everyone split faster than his old man from his mom.

"I want her back. I don't want to be friends with her, Dean. I want her as my girlfriend… as my wife." He told Dean, "She thinks that, because we've been struck with a lot of bad luck this year, that it's because we're together." Punk rolled his eyes at AJ's thinking, "I'm not giving up on her."

"Well… can I tell you something?" Dean looked Punk in the eye, "She's giving up on you. Do you have any idea how she felt to walk in on you this morning, imagine you walked in on her with another guy… you'd be livid." Dean said as Punk nodded, knowing that to be true, "You can be mad at her, but don't hurt her." He shook his head.

"She isn't all innocent either. She's the one that's put me in this mess. I… I was fine when she came out of the coma, I was ready for her to come home and for us to begin a new life, with Paiten, and then she just… she just ends things. I blame her for what I done last night." Punk gritted his teeth.

"I don't care who you blame. It's not about blaming, it's the fact that you're going down the wrong path. A path I've been down and took a long fucking time to get out." Dean said.

"I don't see how drinking is any of your fucking business. In fact, it's none of her business either, she's my friend now, she has no right to ask me these personal questions. I can drink whatever I want, fuck whoever I want, do whatever I want… in fact, I almost like being single again. I can do all the things I couldn't whilst I was with her." Punk smiled.

"I can't help you, Punk. You can only help you. I can support you and give you advice, but only you can put the bottle down. Just... go home, go for a sleep, think about things. Maybe AJ will consider letting you see Paiten tomorrow." Dean shrugged.

"Nah, fuck it." Punk shook his head, "I'm going for a drink." He said, turning his back to Dean as he stormed off, leaving Dean feeling failed on his mission. It really was harder than people thought. It was hard enough to get through to Punk sober, but drunk Punk was like a brick wall standing in front of him.

He wasn't going to chase him, he'd said all he needed to say and Punk had still refused to try redeem herself to AJ and Paiten, but he seemed more interested in taking another drink, so Dean headed back to his house where AJ sat on the couch shivering.

"Did you find him? Is he ok?" AJ asked.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, "I said everything I could. He's away for a drink." Dean frowned, watching as AJ ran her hands through her hair.

"This is all my fault." AJ shook her head, "I need to… I need to take him back, before he hurts himself." AJ said, feeling like that was the only solution left.

"No, AJ. He can't have things the way he wants, he needs to learn that he can't pick up a bottle every time something bad happens in his life. And anyway… do you even want to take him back?" He asked her.

"No." AJ shook her head, "I only broke up with him because I figured we were always better as friends, but I think our relationship has ruined that to." AJ sighed.

"I'm going to do, everything I can to help him. But like I said, the only person that can help him when it comes to alcohol, is himself." Dean said, stumbling off out of the living room, leaving AJ with her hands in her face, so much frustration and sadness around her.

_A few weeks later…_

AJ had been going about her business and taking care of Paiten by herself for the past few weeks. She hadn't seen Punk but from what Dean was heartbreakingly telling her, he was only getting worse.

Punk had began not only drinking at night, but drinking any hours of the day that he felt like it. When he was drunk, nothing else mattered, not AJ, not Dean, not anyone. He was a free man that could do what he wanted.

Dean tried every few days to talk with Punk, but it was getting to the point where no matter what time Dean went round to Punks house, he was always drunk and hateful towards Dean, which Dean didn't need. He didn't realise it, but Punk was pushing away every single good thing in his life.

He'd think on the moments that he was sober about how much he was fucking up, how much of an awful father he was being, how much of an awful friend and person in general he was being, and that made him want to drink. It was a vicious circle that he was definitely hung up in the middle of.

AJ had left Paiten with Dean and Renee for the night and was preparing to face the walking, breathing, human alcohol bottle himself. Not sure what to expect. She'd never seen him drunk, ever.

She walked into the house, the whole place smelling like a bruary, and not a nice one. There was alcohol remains lying around on the floor. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't let Paiten spend the night here, it wasn't safe.

"Whose there?" Punk slurred, waving his hand gun in his hand in the air, sitting with his back to the front door in the living room on the couch.

"It's just me." AJ said quietly, watching him turn around quickly, gathering to his feet in a stumble, barely being able to walk over to her.

"It is just you… isn't it." He walked over to her, "How are you?" He asked, pointing his finger on her shoulder, feeling her slap it away.

"I'm ok." AJ said, far from it, so much stress on her shoulders at the moment, sitting at home wondering how long it would take for Punk to open his eyes and see what he was becoming.

"Are you… are you here to give me, give me… what are you here for again?" He asked, not remembering if she had said why she was here.

"I was just here to see if you were ok." AJ put her hands in her pockets, trying to pretend on the outside that she wasn't affected by Punks drunk behaviour, dying quietly inside. She loved this man, regardless of her parting her ways from him, she still loved him to death.

"Awee." Punk smiled like a child, crouching down to look in her eyes at level, not realising that it looked like he was making fun of her height, "That's nice of you." He nodded with hazy eyes, "But I'm fine." He nodded, swigging on the bottle of spirits in his hand, stumbling back around to the couch.

"You don't look it." AJ followed him around, staring at all the empty glass bottles at his feet, her heart physically hurting at the way this man had turned out to be. A man she thought was the strongest man in the whole world, who didn't take shit from anyone. She'd done this to him, everything that she'd went through, topped off with her breaking up with him had sent him into this alcoholic, non caring man.

"Don't tell… don't tell anyone." Punk inched to her, waving his hand for her to come closer, as if he had a secret to tell, "I blame you." He whispered with a smile, shuffling back over on he couch and grabbing the bottle from the coffee table.

"I blame me too." AJ nodded, drying the tear that rolled down her cheek, her hands fitting inside her coat pockets, "You can't keep drinking like this." AJ sighed.

"I can. And I will. You can't do anything about it. You're just my friend." He smiled to her, watching her nod coldly.

"I still love you. I told you I always would. Watching you like this… it's horrible." She shook her head.

"Oh… Oh, poor little April." Punk sighed, "How you're feeling right now is how I felt when you were raped… or when, when you found out you were pregnant and hated yourself, or when you were kidnapped, or when you were in a coma. So for once… for fucking once, I'm glad it's not me that's hurting." He stared up at her.

"I didn't ask for any of those things to happen." AJ told him.

"Yeah? Neither did I." He growled up at her, "Why are you even here? Get the fuck out. You don't need to… care about me anymore." He slurred, "I can do whatever I want." He repeatedly told her.

"You don't want to turn out like this, Punk. You don't want to turn out like your father." AJ told him, never seeing Punk get to his feet so quick, his hand wrapping around her neck as he pushed her against the wall.

"I… am not, anything… like my father." Punk told her, making that very clear to her as she gasped for air, holding his hand that was around her neck, trying to push it from her, his grip being too strong.

Punk would never have put his hands on any woman, especially not AJ. This wasn't him, it wasn't who he was. The drink was taking away all the good qualities about him, turning him into a selfish, arrogant little boy.

"Do you understand me?" He looked in her frightened eyes.

AJ nodded quickly, feeling him take his hand from around her neck, immediately holding her red marked flesh as well as gasping for air as soon as he let go of her. She'd never been so frightened of him. He was a different man, she couldn't get through to him like this, no one could. His mind was in a different place.

"Close the door on your way out." Punk stumbled back to the couch, collapsing down and reaching for his bottle of sins, swigging another gulp over as AJ watched him with teary eyes. She was terrified for him, absolutely petrified. He was clearly addicted to the stuff, how was she meant to pull him away from the stuff when he seemed to care about it way more than anyone else in his life. She didn't want Paiten to lose her father, as awful a job as he was doing, and she didn't want to lose him either, as horrible and mean he was being to her.

There wasn't anything she could say at this moment that would drop that bottle from his hand, so she took herself with the only pride she had left and rushed by him, not even knowing if he noticed, a brisk walk taking over her as she walked out of the front door, feeling the air hit her finally, not being able to breathe inside that house anymore. He was falling apart, literally. And all she could do was sit back and watch.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	50. Chapter 50

_The next day…_

AJ had spent her day not moving from the couch, letting tears flow from her eyes ever so often, holding on to Paiten as she slept softly in her mother's arms. AJ couldn't believe this was all happening. Just over a year ago, everything was fine, everyone was happy, they all loved their jobs and friends, and now things couldn't have been worse. The only thing good that came from this year, was having her daughter, everything else was just pain and sadness. She couldn't sit back and watch Punk destroy his life, hurting everyone around him by doing so, but she also couldn't stop him from drinking. He was in control of his life and that was the problem. She felt like she'd ruined a perfectly strong man, she'd broke him down into nothing. He knew it, she knew it… and no doubt all their friends knew it.

She didn't care if he wound up hating her, it would hurt, but she would deal with it. All she wanted was for him to be a responsible father to Paiten, for her to be able to trust him when he looked after her, that was, if he ever wanted to look after her. She knew it would never be easy parting from him, but she didn't think it would be this hard. She wasn't seeing a man break down because he had lost his girl, no… she was seeing a man who had taken so much emotional pain in the one year, that he had just gave up on everything and everyone.

"Daddy will get better." AJ whispered as she held Paiten whilst lying on the couch, caressing the back of her soft head as the little infant slept peacefully in her arms, "He's just going through a hard time right now. We just have to… give him some time." AJ sighed, not sure who she was trying to convince, her daughter or herself.

The doorbell rang to her house shortly after, who she assumed was Dean with Paiten's blanket she had left from her stay last night with who Dean named himself, 'Paiten's favourite uncle' to which Roman and Seth rolled their eyes at.

"I bet that's uncle Dean… huh?" AJ sat up off the couch, laying Paiten down on the mat in the living room, her little eyes awakening as her tiny body wriggled restlessly, watching her mother leave her eyesight to go answer the door.

AJ opened the door without thought, assuming it could only be Dean, only to her disappointment seeing Punk standing with his head buried to the ground, looking up at her with bloodshot eyes when he seen her, completely sober and knowledgable about what he had done last night.

"I think you should leave." AJ told him, keeping the door fairly closed as she peeped out the gap she was leaving.

"No… no, please let me in. I want to apologise." He said, looking into AJ's eyes with sincerity, "I don't remember what I said to you last night, but… I remember what I done." He said, waking up with the biggest guilt in his stomach ever.

"Come in." AJ sighed, the decent thing she could do was accept his apology, at least he was sober, that was a start. She let him in the door, closing it behind him as he walked into the living room, watching him head straight for Paiten who was lying on the mat in the living room.

"Don't." AJ warned him, watching him turn around, in the midst of going to lift his daughter for a cuddle, standing up straight and looking back at AJ.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"Don't touch her." AJ shook her head.

"I haven't seen her in a few days. She's my daughter." Punk reminded her, regardless of being warned, picking Paiten up into his arms, holding her as he shut his eyes, rubbing her tiny back in circles as he took so much pleasure in holding her.

"Well I don't know. Maybe I'm scared you'll wrap your hand around her neck and choke her." AJ looked across at him, watching him open his eyes and look at her with such sorry eyes.

"AJ… you have no idea how sorry I am. I would never hurt you, I would never put my hands on any woman. It's the…"

"The drink?" AJ finished for him, "I know. But to me, it's still you. I was still looking at _you_ whilst you had your hand around my neck…" AJ told him as he nodded.

"I know that, and I couldn't be anymore sorry. I feel… I feel so ashamed and angry with myself. I don't know what's happening to me." He looked at her with a lump in his throat. Sincerely not realising what he was becoming. All he knew was that he had an addiction and when that addiction took over, it took over not only him, but his full life, hurting everyone that cared for him as well as his own self.

"If you were sorry, you would stop drinking." AJ folded her arms.

"Don't you think I would stop if I could? I can't stop myself anymore." He said truthfully, planting a kiss on Paiten's head before laying her back down on the mat, to concentrate his full attention on AJ.

"You need to stop. For Paiten, not for me." AJ told him, "Look at her." She said, watching Punk refuse to look down at the little girl who was his, who had his blood running through her own body.

AJ watched as he never budged, "Look at her!" She shouted, watching him turn around with a stiff neck, looking down at Paiten who was looking up at him, her whole life and everything she was growing up around depending on him.

Punk turned back around to AJ, "I can't be her father. I couldn't protect you… I won't be able to protect her." Punk doubted himself.

"Explain to me how you couldn't protect me? I lost count the amount of times you came running after to me and saving me. Just because I was raped, doesn't mean you failed at protecting me." She told him.

"It does in my world." Punk said, "If she's anything like you, she'll be able to handle herself in the big bad scary world." Punk said.

"She is three months old, Punk. She needs her father. I am not going to sit and watch you drink your life away. We can be happy without being in a relationship. It can just be like old times." She said.

"You don't get it… I don't want to be your friend. All I want is to love you… and hold you… kiss you." His voice faded out to a whisper, "If I don't have you like that, I don't want you at all." He shook his head.

"But I don't want to be in a relationship with you anymore, Punk. We're over. I don't want to cause you anymore pain." She said.

"I know, instead I'm turning my pain in for a bottle now." Punk told her.

"And you have to stop. Before it's too late for yourself. Just because we're over doesn't mean your life is." She said as he shook his head.

"No… my life is over. Without you, I'm nothing. Do you want to know why I was so good at our job? Do you want to know why I was made out to be strong and fearless? Because every time something bad happened, you were by my side, you made me fight until I couldn't feel my pulse, you gave me the strength I never knew I had. Without you, I'm just a sad, pathetic, drunken loser." He said.

"But you aren't." AJ shook her head, "You think it's me that makes you strong, but it isn't. You are in control of what you feel, not me. You were the one that gave yourself the strength when you needed it, and you need to do that again, or else things are just going to get worse for you." AJ told him.

"I honestly don't think anything get worse." Punk said, "The worst that could have happened is losing you. So yeah… the worst has already happened." He stared across at her.

"You haven't lost me. I'm still here, I'm still your friend." AJ said as he just shook his head.

"I'm just going to leave, because we want different things now and you don't seem to understand that being with friends with you isn't enough for me anymore." He told her, passing by her as she grabbed him by the hand, turning him around to face her again.

"Well can you… at least, stop drinking." She asked, holding his hand as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"You don't need to worry about what I do anymore." He told her, not being able to promise her anything, wiping her tear stained cheek and heading out of the front door, shutting it behind him leaving AJ hugging her arms, more and more tears forming in her glassy eyes.

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**


	51. Chapter 51

_The next morning… _

As soon as Punk got home, he just sat on his couch, staring into space. He didn't even bothering with reaching for a bottle, he just sat in his own heartbreaking thoughts, wondering what had happened to him, falling asleep for the first time sober, waking up to Dean in his house.

"Punk…" Dean exclaimed as he walked into the house.

"In here." Punk mumbled, fidgeting with his hands as he sat uncontent, looking up at Dean as he came around the couch, sitting down beside him.

"You ok?" He asked his friend.

"I'm ok." Punk shrugged, not really knowing if he was, "I've lost everything." He said.

"No. You haven't." Dean said, "Just for once, listen to what I'm saying… this isn't the end of the world. I know how much you love AJ, but… maybe you've just been living off of this nine year crush you've had on her, thinking that you are both destined to be together. There is a chance you aren't." Dean told Punk the honest truth, "Now, whether you like it or not. You're a father. Paiten should be your number one priority. You need pick yourself up, with pride and focus on her, not the booze and for once… not AJ." Dean told him, "I'm being blunt with you, I know… but it's over for you two. You tried, both of you, to make your relationship work, but you've been hit by so much shit this past year, the only way to make things better is to walk away with as much pride as you can." Dean said, seeing Punk actually listening to every word he was saying.

"I know…" Dean began again, "I know you love her, I know you want her. But you'll get over her. You need to focus on yourself and your daughter. You need to get rid of the booze and put all of your attention and love into that little girl, because she's the one that will suffer from your doings." Dean said, watching Punk just look down to the ground.

"Punk…" Dean said, watching Punk look up at him, "You know how it feels to have a drunk father. Don't make her feel the same way you did." Dean said.

"I just miss her so much. I don't think I can be without her." Punk sighed.

"You just think that, you can be without her. You're a grown man. You're Brooks." Dean hit Punk on the arm, "I want my friend back. Not this pussy sitting in front of me." He said, watching Punk chuckle to himself.

"Brooks was gone as soon as we traded in our guns." Punk sighed, looking at Dean who smirked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" Punk asked.

"C'mon. We're going down to the station." Dean pulled Punk to his feet.

_Later on…_

"Dean, I don't really feel like being here." Punk huffed as he was literally dragged into the Chicago police station, beginning to feel that quench of thirst from a bottle, wanting to pass out to the picture of AJ in his mind.

"I don't fucking care." Dean said, letting go of Punk's arm, as if trailing a naughty child through a supermarket until they finally got outside. They both walked through the station, saying hello on their passing way down the building, heading for the interviewing rooms.

"What is this all about, Dean?" Punk asked, watching Dean open a door, walking in as he tagged behind, staring on at Roman and Seth who were standing in the room with their old guns and weapons spread out on a table.

"What's up, man." Roman nodded to Punk, ignoring how shit Punk looked, he was practically a walking skeleton.

"Dean… what is all of this?" Punk asked with confusion.

"I told you… I'm going to help you. We're going to help you." Dean said, picking up a gun and throwing it to Punk, nearly knocking him into next week with it as Punk caught it, looking down at the weapon.

Punk did have to admit, it felt great to hold a gun so big as the one he was holding again, "How is this going to help me?" Punk asked, clueless to what was going on, however… he had stopped thinking about taking a drink already, as soon as he seen the guns and his friends holding them.

"Here's what is going to happen." Seth said, throwing a grenade up and down in his hands like it was a ball, "You're going to hit the gym." He looked at Punk who looked down at his belly with a frown, "Your muscles." Seth rolled his eyes, not meaning that Punk was fat, meaning that he had lost quite a lot of his mass.

"Why do I need to go to the gym?" Punk frowned, "I like donuts." He said as they laughed.

"You're going to the gym, sweat every drip of alcohol out of your body." Seth told him, "We're going to find some unlucky escaped convict, and we're going to track him down." He looked at Punk.

"Woah woah… I thought we retired from this shit." Punk looked at them all with confusion.

"We did. But we're going back." Roman said, "If it keeps you off the damn drink." He said as Punk smiled at the ground.

"We have no problem…" Seth began, "With you getting addicted to this shit again like you used to be. As long as we have our brother back and not some drunk jerk." Seth smiled across to Punk.

"I thought you would make me go to therapy." Punk admitted to them as they laughed.

"Therapy doesn't do shit." Dean said, "You need something to focus on again, and number one is Paiten, number two… tracking down the bad guys like those cartoons when were kids." Dean smiled as Punk couldn't help smile, staring down at the gun in his hand.

There was no doubt his friends were the best. They had thought outside the box, not forced him to therapy sessions and counselling groups, but remembered the addiction Punk had to his job and brought that back into the present day.

"Won't be the same without AJ, though." Punk sighed for a minute, looking at the downside as he had a tendency to do so now, looking at them all smile to each other for some odd reason, hearing the door open behind him suddenly as AJ walked through the door.

"Who said I wouldn't be joining you." AJ looked up at Punk, "You ride, I ride… You jump. I jump." She reminded him, watching as a smile appeared across his face.

"You really thought we'd be able to go out without Mendez?" Dean laughed.

"I appreciate what you guys are doing for me… but I don't think I can do this." He looked at them all.

He loved the idea of what they had done, but he just didn't think he could fight the way he used to or use his brain the way he used to. He needed to take one day at a time to get out of his addiction, small baby steps.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Seth said, "You're coming with us, wether you like it or not." He said.

"Where is Paiten?" Punk turned to AJ.

"With your brother." AJ said, "If you aren't going to do this for me. Do it for her." She looked up at him.

She knew this was a risk, but as soon as Dean had called her around later on last night and explained his idea to her, she thought it was worth a shot. Punk was addicted to his job, more than he could ever be to alcohol. It was worth trying. Plus, she wanted to get out into the world and face her own fears too.

Punk looked down at her, so much hope in her face, hoping that he would agree and come with them.

They all watched as he threw the gun back over on the table.

Dean sighed, rolling his neck from side to side until he watched Punk approach the table, picking up the different guns.

"I didn't really like that one." Punk admitted with a smile as Dean smiled with relief, watching his friend look through their old guns, exchanging a smile to AJ who was standing by the door with a content smile.

There was no point in yelling at Punk about his addiction, no point in telling him that he would wind up being a horrible father and a failure. They weren't giving up on their friend. AJ wanted the man she spent the previous nine years with, not the man she'd spent the past year with. She wanted him as Brooks, her best friend. Drug free, alcohol free but still the baddest man on the planet.

_One month later…_

"C'mon… ten more!" Dean yelled, standing in front of Punk who wasn't only doing countless push ups, but countless push ups with AJ sitting on his back. He'd spent the past month in the gym, morning noon and night, sweating out his addictive soul, trading it in for his riding one.

He'd stepped up as a father and him and AJ both found that, they didn't need to watch Paiten separately, they could spend time together, being a family, even if their relationship status was just as friends. He was focused on so much that he didn't have time to think about alcohol or drinking.

He'd gained his mass back along with his sanity and self control, the greatest thing to happen to him yet. He was ready to get back out into the world with his friends and do what they done best.

Of course he got a little upset from time to time when he knew him and AJ were done, that they were back to their old selves, even if they did have a daughter. But no one said that parents had to be together to be friends.

Punk hadn't been the only one working out, they all had. Their year departure from their job had left them all rusty, but AJ felt like she had more work to do than anyone else. She'd had a baby for christ sake. She worked out with all of them everyday whilst Paiten spent time at Mike's, or sometimes Paiten would come along to the gym. Those days were usually the days Punk worked the hardest, staring at his daughter while he pulled up the heaviest of weights and squatted.

Punk never thought he could have turned his life around the way he had been doing, and he was beginning to realise that he did have his own strength, AJ wasn't in charge of his feelings and his strength. His strength and power was of his own.

Tonight was the night they were setting out for their first come back, everyone feeling nervous in their own right, Punk especially. It did feel a tad awkward at the start with AJ, he was convinced he would pull out half way through training and give up, but he'd kept his word and he was in better shape than ever.

"I'll see you both tonight." Dean stood outside the gym, a towel slung around his neck, staring across at Punk and AJ.

"Yeah." Punk looked to AJ who nodded positively. It had taken some time to get over her, but for some odd reason, he felt good about where their relationship was at the moment. They respected and of course still loved each other, but as friends. And he never thought he'd see that day.

Punk and AJ made their way back to Mike's to where Paiten was, agreeing with Mike for them to shower and get ready at his house so they didn't have to disturb Paiten, spending time together feeding her before going off to get ready for the exciting and nerve wracking night ahead.

Punk didn't think this was something he could ever do, he didn't think he would be able to be in the same room as AJ unless she was his girlfriend, but things felt right. For once. And guess what… they weren't in a relationship. Which made Punk think from time to time that AJ was right, maybe they were destined to always be friends, maybe they were their happiest when they were just friends.

"How has she been?" Punk asked his brother, sitting his gym back down on the floor as he took Paiten from his brother, AJ standing beside him.

"Good as gold." Mike smiled.

"And you're ok with watching her for a few days without us? Tell us if you aren't, we'll find…"

"She's my niece. I think I can handle her for a few days." Mike smiled, agreeing to watch Paiten with his girlfriend while Punk and AJ went out into their old way of life. Personally, he admired what Punk and AJ were doing, raising Paiten as friends and actually getting along.

AJ began feeding Paiten while Punk sat and watched, small conversation between them both about how nervous they were about the night ahead. They'd worked their asses off for a month, they just hoped it would be enough.

AJ was so relieved and glad that Punk had began acting like himself again and got rid of this obsession with thinking he needed alcohol to solve his problems. It was so stupid that she never seen it before, what he needed… was his friends beside him whilst out chasing the bad guys of the world. That's what they were destined to be.

Once they had fed Paiten and spent some time playing with her, aka, tickling her tummy and making funny faces to her whilst amusing their own selves, they switched her around when either one of them was in the shower, getting ready upstairs, in separate rooms of course.

It was a scary thought and took a lot of guts for AJ to agree going back on the road with her friends, especially after everything that had happened to her the past year, but she seen this as a fresh start, to not only help Punk realise he was an independant man, with or without her, but to face her own fears and realise that she too, was an independant woman who could take out any walking, breathing thing that came in her way, just like old times.

"Mommy and daddy will be home in a few days." Punk said, holding Paiten as he watched AJ put her leather jacket on at the front door, "We're going to miss you." He said, pressing kisses on Paiten's head, watching AJ fold a gun into her back pocket of her jean, "Look, mommy's got her serious face on." Punk pointed over to AJ who laughed.

"Shut up." AJ rolled her eyes at him, walking over and taking Paiten into her own arms, "Let me say bye bye to my favourite girl. Huh? We'll be back soon. Mommy promises." AJ said as Punk folded his arms, smiling down.

They were still his world. As hard as it may have been for people to understand, AJ and Paiten were still his everything.

"We love you, baby girl." AJ smiled to her daughter, pressing a kiss on her soft head, trying not to get upset. Of course things would be different than before, they both had a child together, it would always feel different, but she was hoping they could back into the loving friend relationship they always had.

AJ passed Paiten to Mike and with that, her and Punk were on the way, getting into the car outside, turning the engine on and putting their seat belts on. Punk driving like always while AJ sat in the passengers seat.

"I'm proud of you, for doing this." AJ said as they sat in the car together in silence.

"I gotta say, I never thought I'd see the day." Punk said, having so much doubt in himself, finding out along the way that he was his own man, he was a father, and he was a friend, and that was it. That was all he was to the world, and he couldn't have felt better.

"You ready?" AJ asked him as he turned to her with a smile, his hands wrapping tightly on the steering wheel, teasing his foot on the accelerator to rev the car.

"Always."

**10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.**

**Would love friends like Dean, Seth, Roman and AJ to be honest, lol xD**

**Thanks for REVIEWING, we're not far off finishing the story and we're definitely finishing with a bumping ride. Hang on and enjoy! Thanks for the support.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Enjoy the last chapter, folks. This story has been a blast to write!**

_Three days later…_

The three days that Punk had been doubting for the past month had finally come and gone and it was the sweetest redemption he could have asked for. He wasn't thinking about how he had lost AJ, or his addicting character, he was focused and he was in the zone, only thinking of one person in particular, his sweet baby daughter.

AJ started the trip off with so many nerves, but they quickly vanished as soon as she got back into the swing of things, not as rusty as she thought she was, still keeping her talent. It had just got lost in the past year and needed and chance to come back out.

Punk never thought he could possibly be happy again without AJ, he thought his life had no purpose, but being without AJ, his life had an even greater purpose. He was a father, and that came at the top of his list, regardless of being just 'friends' with AJ, they still vowed to raise their daughter in a family type way.

Their three days on the road, squaring off to some tough ass guys finally opened his eyes wide and clear. He was meant to get with AJ, he was meant to be with her, because without her, and all the shit they had been through, he wouldn't have felt so strong as to what he did now. And without getting with her, their daughter would never have been born, and he could never imagine that.

"Pass me the jam." AJ pointed across the table, smiling as Punk passed her the jar, all five of them sitting in a diner, before setting out on the road to go home.

He never thought the day would come where he could sit across the table from AJ and look at her just as he used to, one of his best friends. It was bizarre sometimes to think they had shared a year together, a numbing, painful year, but this was the way things were meant to go.

"I just want to say…" Punk held the glass of orange juice in his hand, "I'm glad we done this, and I'm proud of all of you. We started like this… we're destined to end like this." Punk said as AJ smiled.

"I don't think this is our last ride though." Dean piped up.

"You stupid? Of course it isn't." Punk said, "You're the greatest friends a guy could ask for. I was so caught up in thinking that I needed someone to love me closely…" He looked at AJ specifically, "I didn't realise I had four amazing friends already loving me." He said.

"We're always going to love you." AJ smiled across at him, watching him smile.

"Ok…" Seth said, "Well, I can't say your relationship was a complete disaster, we did get little Pait from it… but I'm glad you worked things out." Seth piped in.

"That little girl has got some great parents." Roman added as Punk nodded.

"She does." Punk smiled, smiling across at AJ who smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She was still beautiful to him, a part of him would always want her in the way he couldn't have, but he was satisfied being her friend. Everyone was happier, he was a stronger father and most of all… no roadblocks got put in their way.

"And she has some great uncles. Just saying." Dean put his hands up in defence, "Still pissed you never called her Deanette." Dean sighed as AJ giggled.

"Why don't you have your own Deanette then." Punk rolled his eyes with a chuckle, paying his attention back to his food as they all did, Dean looking around with raised eyebrows.

"Well… actually." He looked as they all lifted their heads one by one, staring at him in the eye.

_A few hours later…_

After Dean explaining to his excited friends about growing his own offspring in Renee's stomach, they headed off back into their city, dropping one after the other off until it was just AJ and Punk heading back to Mike's.

"Oh, my precious girl." AJ smiled as she held Paiten in her arms, missing her so much it was unexplainable while Punk watched, caressing the back of his daughter's head as AJ held her tightly.

"How did things go?" Mike asked his brother.

"Good. Great actually. Got the fucker back in prison and only came away with a few bruises." Punk smiled to his brother, turning his attention back to Paiten who he had missed so much, not realising how much he had missed her until seeing her again right at this moment.

"Mommy and daddy got one bad guy down, another million to go." Punk spoke to his daughter, vowing to kill all the bad men in the world to protect her.

AJ laughed, feeling Punk pull her in, Paiten tucked in between them looking around with awe inspiring eyes, in between her parents love that may not have been sexual or intimate anymore, but it had never been stronger this way.

"My girls." Punk whispered. He'd enjoyed their adrenalised few days, never feeling better and finding himself again, but he was glad to be back with Paiten and AJ.

_Later on…_

Punk and AJ had been invited out for dinner with Dean and Renee, to which at first they were a little hesitant, plus… they weren't all for leaving Paiten again, but they eventually came to a decision to go and take Paiten with them in her stroller. She stayed fast asleep the majority of the night anyway. She was a little angel when out, not a single peep out of her.

Punk didn't even feel like he was on a double date like he thought he would feel, he knew he was here with his three friends and his daughter, who he just couldn't stop staring at.

It was in this moment, where he realised that unconditional love didn't need to be between a man and woman who shared a bed. No, it could be between his best friends who he loved with all his heart.

He could always say him and AJ tried, but they were destined to be friends, to fight off the bad guys and even though they weren't destined to be a couple, they were definitely destined to be parents.

It was a hard process, his heart had broken so many times he was surprised it was still beating, he'd let himself go and gave into weaknesses, but not once had he lost what meant the most to him, his friends… no, his family.

"Well, we better shoot off." Punk said, his hands guiding Paiten's stroller as they headed out of the restaurant, AJ standing close beside him as they said their goodbyes to Dean and Renee.

From city to city, country to country, in all of these life and death situations, he'd realised that his life was just that. He lived off of that adrenalin, he lived off of having his friends backs. He wasn't boyfriend material… but he was father material.

It was hard to put the past year and a half behind them, but Punk was willing to, to forget about his drunken mistakes, his irresponsible fatherly mistakes and his boyfriend mistakes.

AJ wasn't upset that the past year had happened, she felt stronger for it and she never thought she would say it, but her and Punks love had never been stronger. It was a classic example that parents did not need to be emotionally in love with each other the way peoples perspective of parenthood was. They could be the best of friends who told each other everything and still raise a daughter in the city with pride, looking back on everything they had been through and being stronger for it.

"I'm still kinda hungry." Punk sighed, feeling AJ hold on to his arm as they walked down the path, pushing a sleeping Paiten in her stroller.

"How can you possibly be hungry still?" AJ chuckled against his arm that had became more larger over his past month of training and sweating.

"Did you see what I ordered?" Punk looked down at her.

"Yeah, but you ate half of my fries, Punk." AJ said as Punk smiled to himself.

"You're small, you don't need that much food." He said as she hit him playfully as they approached AJ's house.

"You did good this weekend." She looked up at him with a smile.

"_You did good today." She nodded, coming to her house, pausing outside with him._

"_Ahh, you weren't too bad yourself." He shrugged, the dark night quiet and still, unlike what they were used to. He could forever hear burning fires, crashing cars, falling down buildings… and he loved it._

"_Goodnight, Brooks." She saluted him with a smile, taking herself and her bottled up feelings with her, walking up the stairs to her house…_

"Ahh, you weren't too bad yourself." Punk smiled to her as she looked up at him, pausing in the street.

"Since you're still hungry… do you fancy going for some ice cream?" She asked him with a hopeful smile.

"That sounds good." Punk nodded.

"Ok." AJ nodded, "Let me just go in and get Paiten her blanket." She said, not wanting her daughter to get cold in this dark night.

Punk watched with a smile as AJ ran up the steps to her house and in through the door to collect the blanket.

He'd spent so much time thinking he needed her as a girlfriend, when really… he just needed her. Sometimes things didn't end like fairytales, but they weren't living in a fairytale. They were the good guys in the world full of bad. Sometimes things didn't end in marriage and a happily ever after… they ended better, with an everlasting friendship and a lesson learned.

"Got it." AJ smiled, running out the door with blanket in hand, locking her house back up and walking down the steps, walking around and placing the blanket over Paiten's sleepy body in her stroller, talking her hair behind her ears as she looked down at her perfect daughter, stroking her cheek lovingly.

"Can't have my baby cold." Punk said as AJ joined him back behind the stroller as he pushed it along the path, turning back in their tracks to go get some late night ice cream.

"Your baby?" AJ raised her eyebrows with disapproval.

"Our baby." Punk corrected himself. And she was just that, she was their baby and always would be, their perfect baby girl.

"What flavour are you going for?" AJ asked him curiously.

"Oh, the decisions." Punk thought hard.

"C'mon. You always go for mint chocolate chip." AJ rolled her eyes at his predicting taste in ice cream.

"I do not. I like other flavours." He fluttered his eyes at her.

"Like vanilla." She said, "The most boring flavour in the universe." She said as he laughed.

"Ok, well how about you pick the flavour I have then." He told her as she hugged into his side.

"Where would you be without me? Picking out the ice cream flavour of the night." AJ laughed as Punk smiled.

"Where would I be without you." Punk mumbled, pushing his daughter along the path in her stroller, AJ cuddled into him on the cold night as they proceeded down to the ice cream shop down the road.

This year had taught them a lot. The most important thing being that, as long as they had each other, nothing bad could happen, as long as they were still in each others lives, they could continue to love and grow as people and give their daughter the love she needed and deserved. They never knew that what they wanted with each other, they already had.

**The end.**

**Not a typical ending which I hope no one is too mad at. Thank you so much for the reviews and support throughout this crazy story, it means so much to me and I can't thank all the readers and reviewers enough. Stick around for the sequel to 'I want crazy' coming very soon! Thank you so much. - Lauren.**


End file.
